December 29, 1999

This is me, looking at the ceiling, trying to figure out what in the hell they could be doing up there to make so much noise.

To continue my story from the previous entry:

We decided to go out for breakfast on Monday morning at IHOP, since it and Denny's are the only real breakfast type places nearby. It was crazy busy there! We had to wait a bit for a table even. The food was good though, if a bit greasy. I was having killer sinus pain, so I apologize now to my guests if I was not my usual sparkling self. I felt better after some coffee and food though, so maybe it was really low blood sugar or something.

After breakfast, we hopped over to Toys backwards R Us for some good old American style shopping. Glark was overjoyed at the selection, and ended up buying like 700 Star Wars action figures. Wing oohed and aahed over the Velma from Scooby Doo action figures, but I'm not sure if she actually bought one. Ken and I played with the Stone Cold room alarms, and I showed off my vast WWF knowledge. Wing pretended to be impressed, but I think she was actually frightened. Jim bought Gran Turismo 2 and I bought the VH1 Pop-Up Video Board Game.

We returned home and the boys immediately started playing Gran Turismo 2. Actually, Glark took a little nap. Wing and I started playing the Pop-Up Video game, and she kicked my ass. We both agreed that it was way too easy, but it might be fun in a group setting.

Soon, Ken had to leave to make it back to Boston in time for dinner with his parents. We were sad to see him go, as his stay was way too short, and we don't know when we will be able to see him again. I hope his trip home was uneventful!

After he left, Jim and Glark played some Playstation games and Wing and I decided to check out the Bunkernauts on MTV's website. If you don't know, MTV put 3 men and 3 women in an underground bunker this week, so that if the world ends on Dec. 31st, they can repopulate the earth. Anyway, just as we got everything figured out (including installing QuickTime, which was frustrating for me!), it was time for a chat. We logged on as Amaya (from Real World Hawaii) as a joke, but a lot of people asked us if we were really Amaya. Also, we kept picking fights with the other idiots chatting. The Bunkernauts could only see the screened questions at first, but then one of them logged in to the regular part. We didn't believe it was her at first, so she turned to the camera and said, "Yes, Amaya, it's really me." We're famous! I am ashamed to admit that we spent two hours on that site. We are big losers.

After that, we decided to go see "The Talented Mr. Ripley". I fell dead asleep for over half the movie, so I don't feel qualified to give a review. Everyone else said it was okay, but there were a lot of problems. Wing plans to write a Hissyfit about it soon, I think, so look for that. Then we had dinner at TGIFriday's and headed home.

The next morning, Wing and Glark had a little car trouble but were able to get it fixed quickly, thanks to AAA. They picked me up for breakfast because Jim had to work. I was actually right in the middle of ICQing Jim to tell him about their car trouble, and they pulled up out front! Quelle coincedence, no? We went back to IHOP because, again, there aren't a lot of breakfast places nearby. After good food and sparkling conversation, it was time for Wing and Glark to wend their way back to Toronto. I thought it was a great visit, and they have invited us to come visit them sometime. Hopefully, we will have the opportunity to take them up on it soon.

It's weird because this was only the second time I have met them in person, and yet I feel really comfortable around them already. I think it's partly because we are in close contact via ICQ, e-mail and phone anyway. But also, because we have similar tastes in a lot of things, and similar personalities, I guess. It's just weird that we ever met at all, but I feel lucky to have met them and not just because they pay me to write about television. It's also because I like to hear them say words like "dollar" and call macaroni and cheese "Kraft dinner".

I may not update tomorrow, so if not, Happy New Year and barring Y2K disaster, see you back here next year! Ha ha.

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I was reading this article about security and New Year's Eve parties and this sentence cracked me up: "We can safely say that, during this period, we'll have more Los Angeles police officers on the streets of the city of Los Angeles than any time in our history for any event," said L.A. Police Chief Bernard Parks." This is supposed to make people feel safe?

Brunching Shuttlecocks rates the new quarters. Personally, I would have given Connecticut a higher grade.

Members of the U.S. Congress discuss their addiction to the Palm Pilot. Even VP Gore has one! He is so hip!

There's a Simpsons comic strip? Why wasn't I informed?

What is the top television series of all time? I hate when people say "Top" when they really mean "Most Influential". They did it with the MTV "Top 100 Videos" and this list does it again.

Microsoft forgot to renew a domain for Hotmail, so one of their customers did it for them. I think they should give him more than the $35, because he totally saved their asses.

Investors avoid content providers because they doubt the long-term potential of the banner advertising model.

Why doesn't ABC just become a 24 hour "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" station? You know they would love to do that.