Thursday, June 30, 2011
Panama City Beach
Friday, June 24, 2011
...And Small Furry Creatures From Alpha Centauri...
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Father's Day
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Rumbling Hearts, Concluded
Point. Less.
I was hoping for something AMV-styled from the great Studio I.G. and instead I got 5 songs set to three vids. More or less. And I'm sorry, but the songs were just not working for me. So off it went, to make way for...
Rumbling Hearts, the Conclusion!
I finally got around to watching it, having planned to watch it over the weekend and trade notes with LK. I was tardy watching, and even tardier with my write-up here. I can only assume he's already seen it.
So. I'm conflicted. And a little confused. I /think/ I know what happened but I'm not sure. And if I'm correct, I'm not sure I like the outcome.
Even still, it was one of the best stories I've ever seen, and a great find. As I mentioned before, I love the J-drama, especially school or work life drama. Those settings seem to really focus on character development and interaction, rather than using magic, tech, aliens, what-have-you to advance the story. Not saying any of those things is wrong, but when all you have is yourself...
Saturday, June 11, 2011
I Need A New Prescription
I try so hard to empathise with people just trying to do their jobs. I just wish the fine folks at my CVS would try a /little/ harder. To wit:
Last night, we dropped off Elder's ADHD scrip. At 9:57, we pulled away with a 15 minute ETA. Not wanting to go all the way home and back, we pulled into a nearby parking spot. Creature began chatting up a cutestorm ^^ Just over 15 minutes later, we drove back to the pharmacy window.
We had to wait behind another car so by the time our turn came, it was 15 minutes *past* the ETA. And by the time someone came to the window it was a few minutes later. And surprise, surprise. Our order wasn't ready on time. Or at all.
Without exaggeration, I think they blow their estimates by a material amount 3 out of 4 visits. Most of the time, we come back a little after the specified time, only to wait some more whilst they fill it from scratch. This waiting in line for a time to wait in line sounds familiar... Ah yes, Fastpass! But without a cool ride at the end ><
We were handed our prescription 38 minutes after we had left the window. More than once I've lamented to Ape about going there at all. Publix and Target are much better about delivery times.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Busy Busy Weekend!
Saturday: Racing in Ocala
What a difference a bit of weight loss makes! Today actually marked Day 3 of Silly Aunt & Catch's visit. The plan was for half of us to go racing and the rest to go shopping. With the Springfield Connection stuck working to restore his Joplin datacentre post-tornadoes (it was /really/ bad!) we were one short, but for the first time, one of the Clones joined us. Elder came with while Younger declined.
To make this shorter, aside from 4 hours on the road and some well-earned Subway, we had almost two hours of racing excitez (please don't sue me LK ^^). Catch and I ran 3 races and Dad and Elder took two trips. Having my own helmet was nice, but next time I need to bring a hairband to control my mane.
My dad and I are ridiculously competitive when it comes to motorsport. Ask him about the Mercedes Invitational smart car race he owned, and the almost-bigger than a smart car trophy he got -.-
This time however, I was 20% lighter. Making me a leaner, meaner Mithran racing machine. I won all three of my races, against our group as well as the others filling out the grid. Only Catch and Dad were able to give me what-for, but not for long!
Also, my dad is Alan-oblivious when it comes to anything not in front of his car. Course marshals, flags, track markers, nada...
Sunday: Creature's Christening
Ape's been working herself up over this and today she gets the payoff! We got to church on time (for once) and had good seats. I think we had at least 20 people in our party. The service was a usual one, and I missed a lot of it having to comfort Creature outside. But then it was showtime. Joining us on the altar were my sis and, filling in for the Springfield Connection (stuck in Joplin rebuilding his datacenter), my BIL.
Also up there were two other families and their little ones. Father did an awesome job, and we even got a great pic of him holding Creature ^^ She didn't scream or anything when she got dipped. I think when it came my turn to apply the chrism on her forehead that I Crossed her upside down...
From there we all caravaned to a new spot for us, a local diner that has been getting rave reviews (and a little national attention) for its breakfasts. We had a bit of a wait, there still being close to 20 of us. But we got in before the heat claimed any of us. Did I mention it was hot? Really, really hot? I was glad to have brought a change of clothes, which went on after church.
Shortening this story: Some "relative" stress at the noise and tight confines, but I thoroughly enjoyed my noms. And I wound up getting some pancakes from one of the kids (my meal had biscuits instead) and they were fabulous. *Everything* was fabulous! I had enough left over for later that night. Which was another family game night, as is our usual thing.
Monday: First Class and Last Pass
I went straight from work to meet Ape, mom, Sis, Catch and the boys for X-Men: First Class. "Firstly", this movie rocked. From start to end. But I'm not sure why they keep calling it a reboot. I'm no comic book nerd, so maybe I'm ignorant of the backstory subtleties here, but I didn't see anything that would prevent X1, X2 and X3 continuing the story arc. No matter, it was awesome!
From there, we went to Chick-Fil-A for dessert and goodbyes. Sis and Catch had to leave early Tuesday to return home. It sucked not having SC here but we're just glad none of our relations was killed or injured in the tornado rampage that nearly decimated Joplin. His on-site pics are bizarre and disconcerting. Without sarcasm or mockery, it was a lot like going into Promyvion for the first time. The /wrongness/ of it all...