I'm going for a nature theme with the pictures today. I went outside to get the mail a few days ago, around 5 PM, and the light on the yellow trees was just so pretty that I had to take a picture. Of course, there were tons of phone wires in the way. So I edited them out in Photoshop -- not very well, I might add. But if you don't look very closely, you can't tell, I think. I had to stand in the Mormons' yard to take this picture -- very exciting! I was afraid they would all come out and start yelling me. I wasn't technically in their yard -- I was standing on a retaining wall that separates their property from the sidewalk. Then, some people walked by on the sidewalk and laughed at me because I was wearing my slippers, probably. It was worth it -- I think the pictures turned out well.
So, Jim has taken the PS2 to work every day since we got it. I guess they play games on their lunch break. He didn't take it on Friday, and his boss ICQ'd him the minute he got in and said, "Did you bring it?" So he ended up coming home at lunch and getting it. That cracked me up.
We went out on Saturday and sold a bunch of old games back, and ended up getting 3 new games (usually between $40-$50 each) for $20 total. That was pretty cool. Then, we went to Borders, because my mom bought Jim a gift certificate there for his birthday, and bought a bunch of DVDs. We got Braveheart, This Is Spinal Tap, and Dark City. Then we stopped by Best Buy, and I bought Center Stage, one of the greatest movies of all time. We watched Spinal Tap first, and the commentary is hilarious. It's all the guys from the band, doing the commentary in character. Hilarious. Almost as funny as the movie itself. Then, we watched Braveheart, or at least about the first half of it. We were thinking about going out to the supergush show, but I was so comfy in my pajamas, sitting on the couch, that I asked Jim if he was really dedicated to going. He said he didn't care either way, so we ended up staying in. Yeah, we're losers. But man, those DVDS are purty.
This picture is of the flowers that Jim bought me on Saturday, just because he was thinking of me, I guess. I didn't ask why! I just thanked him. Sunday, we went over to Jim's parents house. Tom made chili and fried up some perch. Mmm, fried fish and chili. Jim showed off his PS2 (yes, he took it over there too) and we played cards. It was a nice Sunday, all around.
So, I got a new job. Well, not an entire new job -- I'm still going to be writing. But in addition to the writing, I'll be teaching a distance learning course for the Rochester Institute of Technology on Human Computer Interaction. They call it something else, but that's essentially what it is. I'm both excited, and scared. Excited because it seems like something I will enjoy, I can do it from home, and it's a discipline in which I am very interested. Scared because I feel like a big, fat phony. What if they ask me a question and I don't know the answer? What if they all go and complain to the dean about my lame teaching techniques? What if they all hate me? What if they don't learn anything? Anyway, it doesn't start until December, so I have a whole month in which to freak out about it. Great.
So, we tried to get a PlayStation 2 this morning. It's 7:40 AM and we're already home. Did we get one? Here's the story.
I promised to buy Jim a PS2 for a combination birthday/Christmas present. As most of you probably already know, Sony announced that they would only be shipping 500,000 units instead of the expected 1 million, claiming a shortage of parts. There's been some questioning of that -- perhaps Sony was doing it to drive up demand? Who knows. Some stores (like Electronics Boutique) had been taking pre-sales since early this year. Then, they found out that they wouldn't be able to fulfill said orders, at least not before the end of the year. So, clearly, it was going to be difficult to get one.
Jim has been claiming that he didn't want a PS2, that he would just wait until January, blah blah blah. I knew he really wanted one, but he didn't think it was possible to get one since he didn't pre-order. They went on sale this morning, and there were a few stores that were supposed to get some in, and hadn't taken any pre-orders, so it would be first come, first serve. Last night, I convinced Jim that we should get up early and see what was going on. We knew that Wal-Mart was getting 25 or so in, so if we got there and there were more than 27 people waiting outside, we'd just go home and go back to bed. Jim set his alarm for 4:30 AM and went to sleep.
At 4:30 AM, we got up, threw on some clothes, and headed out. We got to Wal-Mart and there were easily 40 or so people waiting in line, some with sleeping bags, so they had clearly been waiting all night. I later heard that some people got there at 7:30 PM the night before. That is dedication. Anyway, I suggested we drive by K-Mart and see what was happening there. Once we arrived, there were only three guys standing by the doors. We pulled up and they said they had heard there were 8 units available, and the store opened at 8 AM. So, we parked and went to wait in line. Another girl arrived about the same time as us, so she was #4 and we were collectively #5. We could have bought an extra one and sold it or something, but that hardly seemed fair. I left Jim in line and went across the street to get coffee for us. After I got back, a few more people straggled in and got in line behind us. Everyone was very civil -- as new people arrived, we explained what we had heard (there were only 8, and possibly less) but some people chose to wait it out anyway. So, for a long time, there were only 12 people in line. Jim and I sat down on the ground and started playing Gin to pass the time. It was probably about 5:30 AM at this point, and as far as we knew, the store was opening at 8 AM.
The trouble began when an entire family arrived. It was a mom and two teenaged kids, a girl and a boy. Let's call the girl Tubby. Tubby was fucking obnoxious. When she got there, we all gave her the standard spiel about how there were only 8 units, and she was number 13. She said something about how it was first come, first serve, and she would run in and grab one. I tried to explain that we had a line going, hoping she would take the hint, but no such luck. Some more people started arriving after this group, and they just kept crowding around the door, ignoring our nice little line. Boy, did we wish that we had self-assigned numbers before those people had arrived. People were talking about knocking people down, and jumping over aisles. Things were looking grim. At this point, there were probably about 25 people waiting. The store employees started arriving, and they clearly had no idea what was happening, and had no plan in place. Tubby kept talking about how she was going to put her unit on layaway. There's no layaway! You buy the unit today and take it home! There's no layaway! I got so annoyed that I put my headphones on, because I didn't want to listen to her. Her brother was talking about just pushing people out of the way and grabbing as many units as he could. Those of us who had been waiting patiently in line started to grumble a little amongst ourselves. We realized that the store wasn't planning on handing out numbers, and those of us who had been waiting for hours might not get one, no matter how early we got there. As more people arrived, the rumors started flying. We heard that Toys R Us was getting more units than they had pre-sold, so they would have a few available. At first, we heard that Best Buy would have 100, and then 150. They weren't even letting people in the parking lot until 7:30. I'm not sure how that would work, since it's in a mall. Sears was supposed to have 3. There was a K-Mart in another town that might have more units. There was much speculation. The girl ahead of us in line, who was buying it as a surprise for her boyfriend (and thus easily surpassing me as best girlfriend ever) went to her car and put on her running shoes, because she was worried that she would have to, well, run.
I told Jim that he should just run for the Electronics Department, and I would block. We started joking that I should try to delay the others by falling down and maybe people would trip over me. Or, I could yell, "They're over there!" and lead a group in the wrong direction. I was definitely planning on taking out Tubby, because she was annoying, and because until she arrived, things had been fine. Our little group of newfound friends were talking amongst ourselves about how we wished they would give out numbers, or let us in one at a time, or something. Finally, I made the executive decision to go out to the parking lot and surreptitiously call the store on my cell phone. I didn't want Tubby and her ilk to hear me and start yelling at me. I dialed the number and got the person in charge on the phone. I don't even think she was a manager. I think she was like a keyholder, or lead clerk. Anyway, I told her that I was calling from outside, and asked if they were planning on handing out numbers. She said, "No." I said nicely that there were people outside who had been waiting longer than others, and they would be unhappy if they didn't get one. Also, I mentioned that people were talking about knocking each other over, and leaping over aisles, and I knew they didn't want that. She said, "Hold on!" and put me on hold. I waited, and looked up to the doors, and there seemed to be some sort of clamoring going on. I waited a while on hold, and then the signal gave out. I'm not sure if she disconnected me, or if my crappy cheap cell phone gave out. Anyway, I walked back up and Jim said the lady had come out and given out no information at all, except that the store would be opening at 7 AM instead of 8 AM, and that "management" would be there before the store opened. So, I didn't know if my call had made a difference or not. And still we waited.
Soon after, the manager/keyholder/whatever came out and said that they would only have six units, so the latecomers should leave. I muscled up to the door, and asked if they could sell them to us in the order that we arrived. She said they would be, and started asking what the order was. Those of us who were in fucking line started telling her, and she handed us some hastily written numbers. Tubby yelled out, "How do you know I wasn't first?" In my one brave act of the day, I turned to her and said, "You weren't first." Then I looked away in case she tried to kill me. THEN, just as we were getting our big number 5, some dude tried to claim that he was there first. He had been there like last! Dude! He had been hanging out with the first three guys, and maybe he thought they would lie for him, but they totally denied him. What a dick. Fucking people. But, we got our number, so we were happy, and everyone else left. I did feel bad for guy #7, because he had been really nice, and he had been there almost as long as us. But at least he didn't have to go through the rush and then not get one.
So, we waited the final twenty minutes or so with numbers in hand. A few more people pulled up, but we sent them away. The lucky six (well, seven because Jim and I only took one number) shared stories about what games we were going to get, what we had heard were the best games, backwards compatibility, all that stuff. Finally, at 7 AM, the doors opened. They had brought all of the units up front to the customer service desk. As we were paying, some more people walked in the doors. Too late, fellas! Jim paid for our PS2 and we both did a little cheer. Then, we headed back to the Electronics Department to buy some games and a memory card. We also ended up buying the DVD of Beyond the Mat, the wrestling documentary. Hey, they didn't have much selection, and I might be able to deduct it since I write about wrestling for MBTV. We just wanted to have a DVD to try out. We paid for those and went home. Actually, first we drove by Sears, and there were a few people waiting outside the door. I don't think they open until at least 9:30. In fact, as I'm writing this, they still haven't opened!
Jim took the PS2 into work with him so that he could try it out on the big LCD projection screen on his lunch hour. And he said he didn't want one. Whatever. It was quite the adventure, and I'm glad we got one. The guy at K-Mart told us that he didn't expect to get any more until 2001. Even if they did, we would have had to compete with everyone else, and try to find out when the shipments were coming in, and it all seems exhausting. Woo hoo! We got one! Hooray!
Whew! Finally the big day had arrived. I met Mary at our hair salon at 9 AM to get our hair done, and she already looked beautiful. I had to drive her car for her as we went to her parents' house, because she had her veil on, and her peripheral vision wasn't that great. She said she wasn't that nervous, but her stomach hurt. She really seemed fine. I would've been a wreck. I was excited, but not really nervous. Then again, I wasn't getting married. We got to Mary's parents' house and hung out there for a while as the other bridesmaids arrived. Regina and I decided to put our makeup on outside because it was so beautiful out. It was sunny and in the mid-70s here on Saturday, which is nothing short of a miracle for Central New York in October. Regina and I did our makeup and chatted. Suddenly, we heard Mary tapping on the window and telling us to get inside and get dressed, because the photographer was arriving. Oops! We went in and got dressed, which took me like two minutes. After many, many pictures, it was time to head to the church.
Mary's parents live like 5 houses down from the church, so our big limo ride lasted about a minute. We got to the church and waited in the limo until it was time to get in. It was fun to watch all the guests arriving and they couldn't see us, and they were all peering at the limo. I kind of felt like a rock star. Sort of. Soon enough, we all piled out and headed into the church. I'm happy to report that I didn't fall down while walking down the aisle, so my duties were nearly complete. The ceremony was beautiful, and I only cried a little bit. Like one tear. I just kept thinking about how Terry was when I met him (confused, mostly, and very naive), and how lucky he was to find someone like Mary, who is so great for him. And how happy I was for Mary, that she found Terry, too. And how beautiful Mary looked, and how handsome Terry looked. And how in love they both are, and how happy they are together. It's the first wedding I've been to where I can say that I'm equally close to both the bride and groom, and I was just so happy and so proud of both of them. I have to stop now, because I'm getting all choked up. But it really was beautiful, and touching.
In what seemed like minutes, the ceremony was over and we were headed to the reception. The entire wedding party piled into the limo. It was a little crowded, but we were all a little giddy with excitement (and champagne) so it was a lot of fun. There were these mirrors on the ceiling, which is kind of gross, but someone pointed out that there was one right above me and you could see right down my dress! I put a napkin on my chest for the rest of the ride. We got the reception and had some time to mingle (and eat! I was starving) before all the introductions and the first dance. Then, it was dinner, and cutting the cake. Is that not the most beautiful cake you've ever seen? I took like ten pictures of it, but I figured you would rather see a shot of the bride and groom AND the cake, so I used this one. Mary's cousin made the cake, and it was stunning. I've never really taken much notice of the wedding cake before -- they kind of all look alike to me. I guess that's why I was so taken with this one.
Then it was time for me to become a dancing machine. The music was so fun -- all your favorite dance hits. One of the greatest things about the reception (besides the obvious "celebrating the marriage" bit) was that our college friend Todd came. None of us have seen him since graduation, and he lives down in Baltimore now. Mary tracked him down and invited him, and it was so good to see him. He's the tall one on the left in the picture. The rest of this picture is Erik, Jim Gill, Terry making a face, Stimp, and then on the bottom row, Randy and Mark Henry (holding the sign). They even played mine and Jim's song, "Let's Stay Together" by Al Green! That was a nice touch. Mary told me she put it on the playlist, and it was so sweet of her to be so thoughtful when it was really her day. The only downside was that at one point Mark Henry got down on the floor to do the Worm or something, and I was standing behind him, and his foot hit my toe and broke off part of my toenail. That was very, very painful. It didn't bleed though. I was soon back out on the dance floor. Molly and Andy were there (that's Molly in the picture above on the right), and Molly and I spent a lot of time dancing. We even lured Jim out there a few times. Poor Andy had a migraine, so he wasn't much for the dancing. It was just so much fun. A lot of people came up to me and told me how pretty I looked, which NEVER happens to me, so I was flying high all night. The beers I had didn't hurt that feeling.
On the way home, Jim and I stopped at McDonald's for some root beer shakes. Jim made friends with the guy at the window (pictured at left), and he gave us our shakes for free! What a great end to a great night. I don't know when I'll have so much fun again in the near future. Terry and Mary went to the Adirondacks for a mini-honeymoon until Wednesday. Neither could take any more time off, so they're planning on taking a major trip next summer. I hope they are relaxing after their big day, and I can't wait until they get back and I can see all the pictures and everything. Wow.
So. The wedding of the year. Terry and Mary got engaged last December, and I feel like Mary's been planning this wedding ever since. That's not really true. There was the usual flurry of "book the church, book the reception hall" stuff right away, and then not much happened until earlier this summer. But I know that Mary put a lot of work into planning this wedding, so I was very excited to see it finally happen. And plus, there's the whole "two of my best friends who really love each other and belong together are getting married" part.
Friday night was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. As per usual, the Cliftons (Ter's family) were late for the rehearsal. No one was really surprised. They're really nice people, but they are always, always late. Always. They showed up and we started. One of the bridesmaids was also late, and she was supposed to walk down the aisle in front of me. She showed up JUST as I was about to call for a ghost runner, and walked up the aisle to people applauding her timing. In the past two weddings that I have been a part of, the priest did the whole vows and everything at the rehearsal, which seems to take the fun out of it. Terry and Mary did not have to do that, and I was glad. I'm sure they were too. I don't mean to make this all about me, but since it's from my perspective, I guess it has to be. Mary will e-mail me if I get something wrong, I'm sure.
After the rehearsal (which went very smoothly), we went to the rehearsal dinner. Jim and I didn't know where we were going, so we followed Mary's parents. Mary's dad is a speed demon. He is the cutest man (you'll see a picture of him in the next entry) and who knew he was a lead foot! So it was interesting to try to follow him. We made it to the place fine. Jim and I sat at a table with old friends. We started calling this group of friends "1.0". As opposed to the friends Terry and Stimp have made at work or through the band, who are known as "2.0". Not that the new friends are like, an advanced version. It's just a different group. I'm a 1.0, and the people we were seated with were largely 1.0 (except the significant others, who I guess would be 1.5 or something). Jim wasn't sure if he qualified as 1.0, but I told him if you have ever seen Ter's college band, "Brave Utensils" perform live, you're 1.0. So he qualifies.
We had a great time at dinner. So much fun. Randy was there (Terry's brother), and I just don't get to see him enough since he moved to Texas, and I really miss him. Also in attendance was our college friend Erik, who lives in London now. I sat next to him, and we were having the best time. He has an idea for a movie, and I probably shouldn't talk about it here so that someone doesn't steal the idea, but suffice to say that it involves an El Camino and Flo from Alice.
One of Terry's best friends, Chris, had made a video out of photographs of Mary and Terry through the years, with friends and family. So, he showed that after dinner, and it was really a wonderful way to end the dinner. Plus, the pictures were really funny. I always think we all haven't changed at all since the day we met, but we really have. Mostly for the better. After the dinner ended, a bunch of us went to the Holiday Inn (site of the reception and where a lot of people were staying) to hang out in the bar for a while. That was nice, and a lot more casual than the dinner. We reminisced about college, and Terry and his brothers reminisced about their childhood. It was a great way to spend the evening. Mary and Terry shared one last dance before they became husband and wife, so I took a picture, because I'm all about intruding on their private moment. I don't think they noticed.
Tomorrow -- the wedding!
Hey, I'm back! So sorry that it's been two whole weeks without an update. Between bridal showers, weddings and recapping four shows for MBTV, I've been pretty busy. And I know how annoying it is when people complain in their journals about how busy they are, so that's the last you'll hear about that.
I thought I should go back and talk about what I did last weekend first, and save more recent events for later this week. So cast your minds back to Friday, October 6th. Jim and I were invited to a wedding for one of his friends. He kind of surprised me by wanting to go, but I'm not one to turn down a free meal, so we went. The ceremony itself was at 3:45 on a Friday, which seemed kind of weird, but whatever. It was in this gigantic church downtown, and Jim and I got there just in time -- the bridal party was assembling in the back of the church as we arrived. We sat next to Jim's parents. I didn't know a soul there, but that can be fun too, sometimes, because you can people watch without feeling like you have to interact with people. So, the ceremony happened -- it was your typical Catholic wedding, I guess. I mean, it didn't have that much meaning for me since I didn't know the people. They seemed very happy.
Then, we went to the reception. It was funny because Jim knew the family, but none of them recognized him, because they haven't seen him since he cut all his hair off about a year ago. When we went through the receiving line, there was much, "Jimmy Durr! Where's all the hair?" As we walked away, Jim lamented that he's twenty-seven years old and people still call him "Jimmy". Even his nieces and nephews call him "Uncle Jimmy" half the time. That's family for you. Anyway, we didn't know any of the people we were seated with, and they were all brothers and sisters with spouses, but it was interesting just to listen to their conversation. We danced one dance and then left, because I had forgotten to set the VCR to tape Freakylinks (which I am recapping), so we had to be home by 9 PM. Which we were. It was the first wedding we have gone to that wasn't for one of my friends, and I was happy to have the chance to pay Jim back for all the weddings of my friends that he has "suffered" through.
The next morning, I had to get up early to go to Molly's house. She was driving us to Rochester, for my friend Brenda's bridal shower. The picture at the top of the page is Molly, Brenda and me. Molly and I have the same sweater on, in different colors, and we did not plan it. How embarrassing. Especially since we walked in together. It was nice to have the car ride to talk with Molly. Even though we talk on the phone a few times a week, it's nice to be able to spend time in person. Anyway, the shower was fun. It was really good to see Brenda. Her wedding is in November. She sure got a LOT of gifts. Like, a lot. I'm excited for her wedding. I'm not in it, but I'm doing a reading, so I get to go to the rehearsal dinner and everything without having to buy the dress, etc. I am always happy to be included in the wedding party, but I just did it this past weekend with Mary (my fifth time being a bridesmaid!) and I don't know if I would want to do it again so soon. So it all worked out for the best.
Another feature of this shower -- a lot of the women brought their babies. That makes me feel old. I mean, I like babies and all, but I don't consider myself parental in any way, shape, or form. And then I see these girls with whom I went to high school, who are younger than me, bouncing infants on their knees. It's kind of scary. One of our friends, Kate, who is going to be thirty in a week or so, was joking that once she turns thirty, she's done with the whole wedding shower/baby shower/bachelorette party thing. She'll feel like she's too old. She's like me, in that she's not married, or a mom, but she does have a significant other. So i can relate. Every time I go to one of these things, I just feel the eyes on me thinking, "So, when are you going to...?" My one consolation is that Brenda and her husband have been dating since we were in high school, eleven years, so I can always say that Jim and I have a few years to go before we catch up with them. I know I could just say that it's not anybody's business, but I am as guilty as anyone of such speculation, so I can't really work up any righteous indignation about it. Anyway, after next month, all the wedding stuff will be over for a while, and it will be a non-issue once again.
In the next entry -- all about Mr. and Mrs. Terry Clifton
So, Jim and I went to Toronto this weekend! And smoked Cuban cigars and bought devil monkey bags! But I'm getting ahead of myself. Jim took the day off from work on Friday in preparation for our trip. But then we got some sad news. My great-aunt Marion died early last week. It wasn't unexpected news, as she had been in the hospital for about a week, and she's been in poor health for a number of years. But it's still sad. Anyway, her funeral was on Friday afternoon, so Jim and I rearranged our travel plans so that we would be able to attend. I'm sure you don't really want all the details of the funeral. I mean, it was a funeral. She was actually Presbyterian and the rest of my family is Catholic, so it was kind of confusing because some of the prayers are different. Like what's up with the "debts and debtors" thing in the "Our Father"? My whole family stumbled over that one. There were three separate eulogies, and my dad did the one representing my part of the family. It was very touching, overall, and it affected me a lot more than I thought it would. I was glad that Jim was there for me, because he is a perfect boyfriend.
Anyway, after the services, we hobnobbed with family for a while. The highlight was probably me dropping a piece of cake on the floor in the church basement, and then walking over to my brother and saying, "I'm so embarrassed! I just totally dumped my cake on the floor!" and he said, "Yeah, we saw the whole thing. Nice one." I'm such an idiot. We ended up leaving for Toronto about 3:30, and after a quick stop at McDonald's, we were on our way.
We made really good time, because there are no traffic laws on the QEW, apparently. We ran into a little traffic as we got close to Toronto, but we were still there almost an hour earlier than I thought we would be. We found Dave and Tara's new house with no problem. This was the first time I've seen their new house, so I was very excited. Of course, being an idiot (see above), I didn't take any pictures to share with y'all. After freshening up, we went to dinner at a place called Shopsy's (I've mentioned it before -- it's the place with televisions right in the booths). This was fortuitous because I got to see Eddie win Big Brother without actually having to watch the show much. I really just wanted to see who won. Then, we went to see Best In Show, the new movie featuring the same cast as the brilliant Waiting For Guffman. It was just as funny. If you haven't seen Guffman, rent it. If you have the chance to see Show, do. That's my review. Funny. Lots of cute dogs. See it. We went back to Dave and Tara's house, and the boys played video games while Tara and I watched Popular and then had a nice chat about death and aging. I know it sounds like a downer, but it was a good talk. Suddenly, it was 3 AM! Time for bed.
The next day dawned bright and not so early. Well, Jim got up at like 9, but the rest of us slumbered until late morning. Soon, we were SHOPPING! I love shopping in Canada, because you can look at the prices and be shocked, and then do the conversion in your head and think, "Why, this only costs fifty cents!" So, it's great. Our first stop was a vintage store owned by a friend of Dave and Tara's. He wasn't there, but my perfect winter coat was! I've been looking for a new winter coat because the one I have is really unstylish and falling apart. Also, it's more of a parka, and on the rare occasion when I had to dress up for something, it just didn't work. Anyway, it's an army green wool coat with a faux-fur black collar, and it was only $40 Canadian! Granted, it's vintage and thus used, but I rarely find vintage clothes that fit me because women were really small back then, I guess. I checked it all over for moth holes, or unraveling seams, and it seemed sound, so I bought it. No pictures today, because I haven't showered, but I'll drop a picture in at some point of me in my new coat! I know you are all on the edge of your seats.
Anyway, we continued shopping and shopping. Jim was looking for cool Princess Mononoke merchandise, but he didn't find anything he really wanted. He did buy some Cuban cigars, but of course, he smoked them all in Canada and didn't bring any back to the States, because that would be illegal. We went to the fabulous candy store, Sugar Mountain, where we all went a little nuts. Dave bought soap gum, and made us all eat it. It tastes like soap. Jim liked it. I spit it out. Dave laughed. I also stocked up on some stuff from Lush because it smells good. I was also on the lookout for a new purse/bag as my current one was unsatisfying to me. I had been thinking about a Manhattan Portage style messenger bag, but then we found the Paul Frank devil monkey bag. I wasn't sure about it, but Tara peer-pressured me into buying it, and I'm really happy I did. As I walked to the register, I pointed at the monkey and then at Tara and mouthed, "You!" because she is the devil shopping buddy. She makes you buy stuff. But I love it. On the way home, I tried to come up with a funny name for the monkey. The best I could do was "Bobo the Satanic". Later, on ICQ, Tara came up with "Beelzebubbles" which is hilarious. She thinks she read it somewhere, but I'm just going to pretend that she made it up.
After so much shopping, we were tired out. We went back to the house and ate veggies and dip, and candy. Surprisingly, it all went well together. We watched Mystery Men, which Jim and I had never seen. It was really funny! Then Dave went to bed, and the rest of us watched the director's commentary on Clerks. It was interesting, but I wish Kevin Smith had thought to have more than one mike. Also, they turned the film's audio all the way down -- normally when there isn't any commentary, you can hear the movie. It was realy interesting, but the execution was kind of poor. But I know that he did the commentary originally for the laser disc, so maybe the technology wasn't as good back then. After that, we went to bed.
Jim and I woke up before Dave and Tara the next morning, and decided to set out in search of coffee. It was a beautiful day, and we walked up and down the street before finding a Portugese bakery, where we got coffee and doughnuts. Then, we went back where Dave and Tara were awake. We all sat out on their lovely back deck and chatted, while eating muffins and such. But, all good things must come to an end, and Jim and I wanted to get home before too late, so we headed out. It was a great weekend, although I wish we could have spent more time there. Sometimes life has other plans for you, I guess.
On the way home, we stopped at Ikea, because I'd never been to one before, and I'm looking for shelves or a curio to hold my snowglobes. We found a pretty cool one that fits in a corner, but after looking at it in the packaging, we decided it wouldn't fit in our car. Oh well. I'm sure I can find something similar at Target or something. It was neat just to go to the store, and now that we know where it is (and which exit to get off), we can always go back at some point.
Now the new television season starts! Also, we have a wedding to attend on Friday and I have a bridal shower on Saturday. Then, next week, Sars, djb and Gustave will be coming through town on their way to Toronto for a visit, so I hope to hook up with them. Then next weekend is Mary and Terry's wedding! I can't believe it's almost here! So, lots to look forward to, and lots to keep me busy.