It's Update time!!!!
December 25, 2001 (the first Christmas of the millennium): Have yourself a Very Jewish Christmas...
-I decided that as a geek, I have to introduce myself to the workd of J.R.R. Tolkien at some point in my life. Luckily, a quick and dirty way of doing so was released on December 16: The first of the "Lord of the Rings" movies. Now, actually, this was my second introduction to the works of Tolkien. The first is on the curtains that were covering my bedroom closet when I was born. Mom decided to have the curtains with Rings images- even though I would have not learned how to read until I was four. One image embedded in my memory is the scene with the Hobbits celebrating Bilbo Baggins' eleventy-first birthday. It even said so in a little caption. So when the movie had that very scene in the beginning of the film, it brought back a lot of childhood memories.... but I digress.
I went to see the film on Christmas Day (or to those who accompanied me to the theatre, the Day wheen everything is closed....)
I rushed to the theatre to see the first showing at 11:50. I didn't get any announcements from anyone about any changes of plans, so I assumed that everyone was waiting for me at the theatre at around 11:30- the time that I left the apartment. While waiting for the Fullerton bus, I picked up a copy of the Onion (America's Finest News Source).
I was late to see the first few minutes of the movie, which was very unfortunate, since the film had fewer trailers than I thought. When I got to the main lobby of the theatre, I didn't see anyone I was supposed to meet- namely quasilaur- so I thought that she went on into the theatre ahead of me. Thinking that the theatres would not be as crowded due to the earliness of the show and the nature of December 25th, I thought that she would be relatively easy to pick out, since I've seen her enough to recognize her. However, due to the overall darkness of the film (shedding no light on the audience) and the fact that my theories on Xmas audience sizes were completeluy wrong, I couldn't find her.
About 10 minutes into the showing of the film, I decided to test something. I called Laura's cellular phone from a pay phone outside. If she didn't answer, that would mean that she is in the theatre and her phone is off. If she does, that means that either she was in the theatre and she would hang it up immediately (which would be followed on my end by a dialtone) or she's not in the theatre at all, and I just attended the wrong show.
She answered.
She was at home. It turns ouf that she was up until 7:00 a.m.- something I am no stranger to, believe me- and that she was (understandably) just getting up. She said that she would be ready for the 2:30 showing. I said OK, and we hung up. I decided that I missed enough of the film to be completely lost, so I decided to just leave. I had about two hours to kill, and all the stores were closed- except for one- a convenience store conveniently called "Always Open". There was a magazine about Muhammad Ali in there- I thumbed through it and left afterward. I went back home for a bit to warm up from the bitter cold.
First impression of the film- nice how they made the hobbits and Gandalf vertically correct. Hobbits are supposed to be 3.5 feet tall, and Gandald isabout twice that height- and it really showed in the film. This would prove to be an interesting film indeed.
Meanwhile, the rest of the family were planning our annual trip to the Marriott Suites hotel near O'Hare (a tradition that has lasted many years and with many hotels- I always love a good trip to the Marriott.) Alif was preparing to leave when I arrived, and I decided to read him a few stories from the Onion to have him leaving with a smile. Then, the time came for me to get back to the theatre to try seeing "Lord of the Rings" again. This time, I arrived 15 minutes early (really proud of myself, then.) However, I noted a very LONG line at the ticket counter. I went over to it looking for Laura.
No Laura.
So, I called her cellphone again. She was on Fullerton waiting for a bus. She also said that soulhakr and nos4a2 would be joining us. The more humbuggers the merrier. :) So, I waited for "The Dave", Nos, and Q.... outside the theatre so as to see them coming in from a distance.
Then, I saw the words at the box office outside that was calming yet frustrating at the same time:
SOLD OUT: LORD OF RINGS 2:30 At least we all didn't have to hurry....
The Dave was first to arrive. We talked on the possibility of me getting a pager (which could be a possibility if I can do some freelance webwork on the side. One of my IIT teachers told me how to do so rather easily. :) Anyway, Nos was next- who I recognised from the LJ din-din at Clarke's I attended on the Thursday prior (interesting sideburns and a unique drawing style). Q was last (after forgetting about the bus and just walking to the theatre- brave thing to do in that weather.) Laura opted to buy me theatre snacks after all that went on today, and I accepted... but first- we needed to figure out what to actually DO between 2:40 and 3:30- the time of the next showing (the one we all bought tickets for just in case.) So, we went to Always Open, which thankfully kept its promise this late in the day on Christmas. I picked up some beef jerky to eat with my popcorn (managed to get a taste for the stuff in IIT), and Laura about all of us M&Ms and Sprees (good of her to do so. Thanks much.) As we were waiting for Dave to get some Subway sammiches, some skinny Asian dude was starting to get loud with the clerk.
Then, someone else interfered.
The Asian punk was then cursing at the someone in very shattered English (either a result of not being from this country, being very drunk, or both). Then the punk started to yell at the clerk. Dave was right at the counter when the yelling began. I began to get concerned, but the clerk managed get the punk off her back without having him to resort to violence. Then, we all grouped together tabulating our things to take and how much time we have left, when suddenly, the Punk went over to out direction. It looks like the interfering someone was behind us, but since all four of us were blocking out the Punk's way over to the someone, they had to talk above us and through us. Finally, the Punk left. The someone continued to enjoy his sandwich, and we left as fast as possible.... well, the movie was about to begin, so we had to go rather quckly.
We saw the film. All 3 hours and 10 minutes of it. Whoa.
It was long, but never boring. Loved everyone's performance in the film, from Elijah Wood to Hugo ("Human Beingsssss are a diseeeeeeease") Weaving. Dave, Paul, and I were exchanging jokes ("This is no mine- it's a space station!", "These Hobbitsssss are a diseeeeeeease.", etc,) While Laura was laughing and telling us all to shut up. Good times. Final review- darn good film. Take your 13-and-older kids to see it. Just let them know that the movie is a TRILOGY and does not end with the first film, and all should be fine. :)
Then we walked back to the Fullerton station, while we discussed everything from Max Headroom to the Ebonics Delta Commercial I posted a week ago. Dave and Paul existed the train first. Before Laura left the train, I noticed she was trying to read my copy of the Onion. I read it enough, so I gave it to her for her to get a good laugh out of as the evening hous rolled on (I guess that counts as a present of some sort- the gift of laughter... whatever). She left, and we both wished each other a "happy something-or-other" and "merry um.... whatever". I continued on home.
At home, I called Mom at the hotel asking about the best routes to the hotel. She suggested to just take the redline south and the blueline northwest, since the buses that run straight across stopped running at this time of night. I concurred. I also asked her where my birth certificate was, for I wanted to get my state ID so that I could get into Dave and Buster's on Saturday for my buddy Brian's birthday celebration.
I also called my buddy Pedro seeing if he would visit the hotel at any time. He said that he might. I called Marisa asking her if she could make it, but her birthday was on Dec. 27, and she was flying to Florida (lucky duck) on Friday. She did say that the following day she would be ice skating with her friend Linnea in case I could come and visit. I said I might come.
I then went to the hotel.
The family and I watched some TV. One programme that I remember is a Disney World Christmas Special made in 1978 with some really disturbing imagery (well, disturbing if you look at it with a jaded 20-year-old perspective.) The whole special was just simple innane anyway. Songs were sung in that special that had NOTHING TO DO WITH ANY HOLIDAY WHATSOEVER! People acting like robots did the stereotypical robot movelemts and limited intelligence. There was bad dancing, Lip-synching istruments, People acting babies sucking each other's thumbs (that one Alif and I had a field's day with) and a singing Gepetto talking to wooden horses and building a doll that looked just like him (Alif: "That has Freud written all over it.")
We also talked about the creators of different airlines:
Billy United
Sam American
Klaus Lufthansa
Nigel "British" Airways
Tony KLM
Bob TWA
Sam Aircanada
Pierre France (think about that one)
Kyun Air Singapore...
and so on- laughing all the way. Having a grand old time of it all.
After all that, Mom wanted me to go to bed.
And so I did...
December 26: Fill out your name here, please.
[Coming soon. It's getting late. I'll update ASAP.]
-I decided that as a geek, I have to introduce myself to the workd of J.R.R. Tolkien at some point in my life. Luckily, a quick and dirty way of doing so was released on December 16: The first of the "Lord of the Rings" movies. Now, actually, this was my second introduction to the works of Tolkien. The first is on the curtains that were covering my bedroom closet when I was born. Mom decided to have the curtains with Rings images- even though I would have not learned how to read until I was four. One image embedded in my memory is the scene with the Hobbits celebrating Bilbo Baggins' eleventy-first birthday. It even said so in a little caption. So when the movie had that very scene in the beginning of the film, it brought back a lot of childhood memories.... but I digress.
I went to see the film on Christmas Day (or to those who accompanied me to the theatre, the Day wheen everything is closed....)
I rushed to the theatre to see the first showing at 11:50. I didn't get any announcements from anyone about any changes of plans, so I assumed that everyone was waiting for me at the theatre at around 11:30- the time that I left the apartment. While waiting for the Fullerton bus, I picked up a copy of the Onion (America's Finest News Source).
I was late to see the first few minutes of the movie, which was very unfortunate, since the film had fewer trailers than I thought. When I got to the main lobby of the theatre, I didn't see anyone I was supposed to meet- namely quasilaur- so I thought that she went on into the theatre ahead of me. Thinking that the theatres would not be as crowded due to the earliness of the show and the nature of December 25th, I thought that she would be relatively easy to pick out, since I've seen her enough to recognize her. However, due to the overall darkness of the film (shedding no light on the audience) and the fact that my theories on Xmas audience sizes were completeluy wrong, I couldn't find her.
About 10 minutes into the showing of the film, I decided to test something. I called Laura's cellular phone from a pay phone outside. If she didn't answer, that would mean that she is in the theatre and her phone is off. If she does, that means that either she was in the theatre and she would hang it up immediately (which would be followed on my end by a dialtone) or she's not in the theatre at all, and I just attended the wrong show.
She answered.
She was at home. It turns ouf that she was up until 7:00 a.m.- something I am no stranger to, believe me- and that she was (understandably) just getting up. She said that she would be ready for the 2:30 showing. I said OK, and we hung up. I decided that I missed enough of the film to be completely lost, so I decided to just leave. I had about two hours to kill, and all the stores were closed- except for one- a convenience store conveniently called "Always Open". There was a magazine about Muhammad Ali in there- I thumbed through it and left afterward. I went back home for a bit to warm up from the bitter cold.
First impression of the film- nice how they made the hobbits and Gandalf vertically correct. Hobbits are supposed to be 3.5 feet tall, and Gandald isabout twice that height- and it really showed in the film. This would prove to be an interesting film indeed.
Meanwhile, the rest of the family were planning our annual trip to the Marriott Suites hotel near O'Hare (a tradition that has lasted many years and with many hotels- I always love a good trip to the Marriott.) Alif was preparing to leave when I arrived, and I decided to read him a few stories from the Onion to have him leaving with a smile. Then, the time came for me to get back to the theatre to try seeing "Lord of the Rings" again. This time, I arrived 15 minutes early (really proud of myself, then.) However, I noted a very LONG line at the ticket counter. I went over to it looking for Laura.
No Laura.
So, I called her cellphone again. She was on Fullerton waiting for a bus. She also said that soulhakr and nos4a2 would be joining us. The more humbuggers the merrier. :) So, I waited for "The Dave", Nos, and Q.... outside the theatre so as to see them coming in from a distance.
Then, I saw the words at the box office outside that was calming yet frustrating at the same time:
SOLD OUT: LORD OF RINGS 2:30 At least we all didn't have to hurry....
The Dave was first to arrive. We talked on the possibility of me getting a pager (which could be a possibility if I can do some freelance webwork on the side. One of my IIT teachers told me how to do so rather easily. :) Anyway, Nos was next- who I recognised from the LJ din-din at Clarke's I attended on the Thursday prior (interesting sideburns and a unique drawing style). Q was last (after forgetting about the bus and just walking to the theatre- brave thing to do in that weather.) Laura opted to buy me theatre snacks after all that went on today, and I accepted... but first- we needed to figure out what to actually DO between 2:40 and 3:30- the time of the next showing (the one we all bought tickets for just in case.) So, we went to Always Open, which thankfully kept its promise this late in the day on Christmas. I picked up some beef jerky to eat with my popcorn (managed to get a taste for the stuff in IIT), and Laura about all of us M&Ms and Sprees (good of her to do so. Thanks much.) As we were waiting for Dave to get some Subway sammiches, some skinny Asian dude was starting to get loud with the clerk.
Then, someone else interfered.
The Asian punk was then cursing at the someone in very shattered English (either a result of not being from this country, being very drunk, or both). Then the punk started to yell at the clerk. Dave was right at the counter when the yelling began. I began to get concerned, but the clerk managed get the punk off her back without having him to resort to violence. Then, we all grouped together tabulating our things to take and how much time we have left, when suddenly, the Punk went over to out direction. It looks like the interfering someone was behind us, but since all four of us were blocking out the Punk's way over to the someone, they had to talk above us and through us. Finally, the Punk left. The someone continued to enjoy his sandwich, and we left as fast as possible.... well, the movie was about to begin, so we had to go rather quckly.
We saw the film. All 3 hours and 10 minutes of it. Whoa.
It was long, but never boring. Loved everyone's performance in the film, from Elijah Wood to Hugo ("Human Beingsssss are a diseeeeeeease") Weaving. Dave, Paul, and I were exchanging jokes ("This is no mine- it's a space station!", "These Hobbitsssss are a diseeeeeeease.", etc,) While Laura was laughing and telling us all to shut up. Good times. Final review- darn good film. Take your 13-and-older kids to see it. Just let them know that the movie is a TRILOGY and does not end with the first film, and all should be fine. :)
Then we walked back to the Fullerton station, while we discussed everything from Max Headroom to the Ebonics Delta Commercial I posted a week ago. Dave and Paul existed the train first. Before Laura left the train, I noticed she was trying to read my copy of the Onion. I read it enough, so I gave it to her for her to get a good laugh out of as the evening hous rolled on (I guess that counts as a present of some sort- the gift of laughter... whatever). She left, and we both wished each other a "happy something-or-other" and "merry um.... whatever". I continued on home.
At home, I called Mom at the hotel asking about the best routes to the hotel. She suggested to just take the redline south and the blueline northwest, since the buses that run straight across stopped running at this time of night. I concurred. I also asked her where my birth certificate was, for I wanted to get my state ID so that I could get into Dave and Buster's on Saturday for my buddy Brian's birthday celebration.
I also called my buddy Pedro seeing if he would visit the hotel at any time. He said that he might. I called Marisa asking her if she could make it, but her birthday was on Dec. 27, and she was flying to Florida (lucky duck) on Friday. She did say that the following day she would be ice skating with her friend Linnea in case I could come and visit. I said I might come.
I then went to the hotel.
The family and I watched some TV. One programme that I remember is a Disney World Christmas Special made in 1978 with some really disturbing imagery (well, disturbing if you look at it with a jaded 20-year-old perspective.) The whole special was just simple innane anyway. Songs were sung in that special that had NOTHING TO DO WITH ANY HOLIDAY WHATSOEVER! People acting like robots did the stereotypical robot movelemts and limited intelligence. There was bad dancing, Lip-synching istruments, People acting babies sucking each other's thumbs (that one Alif and I had a field's day with) and a singing Gepetto talking to wooden horses and building a doll that looked just like him (Alif: "That has Freud written all over it.")
We also talked about the creators of different airlines:
Billy United
Sam American
Klaus Lufthansa
Nigel "British" Airways
Tony KLM
Bob TWA
Sam Aircanada
Pierre France (think about that one)
Kyun Air Singapore...
and so on- laughing all the way. Having a grand old time of it all.
After all that, Mom wanted me to go to bed.
And so I did...
December 26: Fill out your name here, please.
[Coming soon. It's getting late. I'll update ASAP.]