March 6, 2000

This cold is bugging me. I can't shake it. I have a day where I feel better, and then the next day, it knocks me on my butt again. Maybe I have meningitis. Do you think I have meningitis? No, I'd be dead already, right? That's a fast-acting disease, isn't it? I keep threatening to go to the Health Center on campus, but I haven't yet. I'm just sick of being sick. It's boring. Plus, the weather is picking up and I don't want to be stuck inside, exhausted.

So, nothing like opening an entry with complaints to endear yourself to your audience, right? I'll stop now.

Friday night, Jim and I went out to Happy Hour with some of his co-workers. I had met most of them before briefly, but had not hung out with them at all. We had a really good time! We played some foosball, and I was doing great until I was informed that you can't spin the guys. You can only turn. What's up with that? Spinning is what gives me an edge! After that, I was thrown off my game.

On Saturday, Mary and I went out to lunch and a movie. We ate at Pizzeria Uno, and I got the best appetizer ever, Pizza Skins. It's a pizza crust, filled with mashed potatoes, topped with cheese and bacon. Then you eat it with sour cream. They are great. Unfortunately, I forgot that Mary and I were getting lunch at 3, and I ate some soup at about noon. So I wasn't very hungry, and ended up taking almost the whole thing home with me.

After lunch, Mary and I headed up to the theaters to see "Boys Don't Cry" (which was fantastic, as everyone else has reported). The girl taking tickets looked at my styrofoam container and said to me, "You can't take that in there. There's no food or drinks allowed." I said, "Why not?" She said, "It's the policy." I said, "Yeah, but why can't I?" If she could have come up with a legitimate reason, I would have believed her, but I felt like she was just saying I couldn't so that I would buy some overpriced popcorn or something. Plus, there were no signs around stating this so-called policy. I wasn't trying to be a jerk about it, but I was annoyed. I told her, "Look, I just spent good money on this food so I'm not going to throw it away, and I don't have time to go stick it in my car or something." She started to look scared and just kept saying, "It's the policy." So I said, "Can I talk to your manager?" and she said, "Sure" and then just stood there. I waited, and then said, "Manager?" and she said I had to ask at the concession stand. I checked with Mary to make sure this was okay with her, and she agreed with me that it was a stupid policy and I was right to challenge it. We asked for a manager and a guy took off to wander around looking for one. While he was gone, we totally could have snuck into the theater, but I was bound and determined to find out about this policy now. Finally a manager came out, and she was very nice. She explained that the policy was due to people bringing in food and leaving it in the theater, and making a mess. Now, I don't believe that for a minute, but at least she was pleasant and had a reason. Then she offered to stick my food in a fridge behind the counter until my movie was over. That's all I wanted! I wrote my name on it and she took it for me. Now that I think about it, they all probably spit in my food because I was such a pain in the ass. Oh well.

Yesterday, I did a whole lot of nothing because I was sick again. I guess going out for a day caused me to relapse or something. I must go now, as one of my cats is yowling in the bathroom and I have to shut her up somehow. Have a good one.

Warning: These links will open a new browser window. Previous days' links are archived.

If you only visit two links today, make them these: Salon's call to save Freaks and Geeks and the site that is organizing us to do just that.

The PlayStation 2 was released in Japan over the weekend, and sales are brisk. It should be out in the US by the fall.

This ZDNet story alleges that loyalty is extremely important for e-tailers.

This Boston Globe story makes light of some of the "sky is falling" type stories about the Internet.

Jim will enjoy this story, since it puts Bette Midler in an unflattering light, and he hates her.

The Cure might be breaking up. This reminds me -- why wasn't it their version of "Boys Don't Cry" in the movie of the same name? Who was doing that cover? I wonder if The Cure refused to give up the rights or if they were never asked.

A South Park e-mail virus is on the loose, so make sure your virus protections are up to date.

Things I did not need to see: Katie Couric gets a colonoscopy live on television. Enjoy your corn flakes!