Movie Reviews

So over the past week, the wife and I have watched three different movies. Two very good, one so-so.

Up, is the new Pixar flick, which we watched this evening. What an interesting movie. Animated, but not so much a kids movie. Dare I call it a deep cartoon. It was nothing like I thought it was going to be, but much much better than I thought it would be. If you get a chance, check it out. It's not as funny as other Pixar movies, but it's more of a movie than just a popcorn flick...

Star Trek... the new one, the wife and I watched the other night. Awesome stuff. Sooo much better than I thought it was going to be. I was expecting just another sci-fi action flick, which it was, but a really good sci-fi action flick. This is another one where you won't be disappointed.

Finally, we watched Four Christmases. Reese Whitherspoon was good in it, Vince Vaughn was the "i'm getting paid in cash, right?" Vince Vaughn. Could have been a lot better, but then again how much do we really expect from a holiday romantic comedy?

Christmas And A Book Review

So how was everyones holiday? I trust Santa was good to everyone. My two bestest gifts were a new ipod touch (so many apps, so little time! and so little free wifi, but thats ok, its still fun to play with), and a new gps. At work, all my buildings (21 in all) are scattered around the city, so now I'll actually be able to find them! Good times..

Book review time..
Malcolm Gladwell is one of my favorite authors. Everything he writes, I love to read. His newest book, What the Dog Saw, is a collection of his essays written for the New Yorker. Same general thought provoking questions as his other books, just in essay form. If you're looking for a good, very interesting read, I highly recommend picking up this book, or any of his past writings, you won't be disappointed.

Another Reason To Always Pay In Cash

So I'm up in Maine this weekend, doing a little Christmas shopping for the wife. I've done my price shopping online and down in Boston, so now I'm checking prices in Maine. I figure, hey, the wife and I have been together for a while now, so far she's decided to stick with me, so why not upgrade her engagement ring, add a little more bling. Since I'm fresh out of knock out gas, and can't get the actual ring off her finger, I figure I'll buy diamond stud earrings, give those to her and then she can pick out the new setting after Christmas.

So I find exactly what I'm looking for for the right price up in Bangor. Good times, right? Well... I pay, using my only credit card (which has next to no balance on it), do some more shopping (again using the same card, but only for small purchases) and head home satisfied that I'm a great husband.

When I get home, the wife heads out shopping. About an hour later I get a call, and Sarah and I have the following conversation:
her: "so umm did you go shopping for me this morning?"
me: "sure did"
her: "ok, cuz the credit card company just called me to verify a purchase made on the card (its a joint card)"
me: "you've got to be kidding me"
her: "nope, they called and asked if I recently spent $xx at Xxx Jewelers, to which I said no, but my husband was just out shopping for me, so thanks for ruining my Christmas surprise."

As you can imagine, this really pissed us both off. I make a purchase and they call her, not me? They have both our cell numbers, it's just that the idiot at Citi Card didn't look carefully enough. So the wife basically found out what I got her for Christmas six days early.

The good news, since the surprise was blown, I showed her the earrings, we returned them and just picked out a new setting etc, so it cuts out a step. The bad news, it's no longer a surprise. Although it was really funny to hear Sarah rip into the Citi people while we were paying for the new ring, asking them (in the most sarcastic voice possible) if it was ok if was made a purchase. Good stuff...

Goings On

So let's see, both the wife and I have started new jobs. So far so good I'd say on both ends. One of the percs of my new job is a free apartment. Nice huh. Good location too, located in Boston, right between my job and the wife's, so it'll hopefully work out well. The only bad part though, is the size. We're going from a 2300sqft house, to living with the in laws, to a 700sqft apt. Big big changes. I think it'll be fun living in the city again, I'm actually pretty excited.

Let's see, what else. My xbox died, but was recently returned to me, free of charge and all fixed, by Microsoft. So thanks Bill Gates, thanks for fixing my beloved xbox.

I'm just about done with my Christmas shopping. Just need to pick up a couple quick things for the wife and I'll be done. We have an understanding, that anything that doesn't fit, or she doesn't like, Sarah can return guilt free. I'm hoping this is the first year she doesn't partake in that policy. I think I did really really well, but we shall see.

Judge Me If You Will...

But you know that show, The Sing Off, on NBC... the show that features all the a cappella bands? Yeah well we've been watching it.. mostly for two reasons. One, there's really nothing else on opposite it. And secondly, my dad's cousins kid is in the Beelzebub's out of Tufts. So what's that, my second cousin? Is that how that works? Anyway, they're really really good, so if you've got nothing else going on you should check out the next episode ( i think its the 21st)

The Divorce Maker

Or as Nintendo is calling it, Super Mario Bros. for the Wii. It has all the fun of the original Mario, except you can play two players in a level at the same time, which makes the game way much harder. You wouldn't think that it would, but timing jumps, and getting the screen to move at a pace that you can both manage is really hard. Never mind the fact that when one person dies, the game pauses for half a second, throwing off the other person.

You can play up to four people at a time, but if two people is like this, four people must be insane.

So far we've managed to keep the yelling at each other to a minimum, but the closer we get to beating the game, the closer we get to killing each other..

Big Day Tomorrow

As it's the first day of my new job. I feel like a kid on the first day of school. Gotta iron some shirts, pack a lunch, and I'll be good to go..

Harry Potter

So the wife and I went to the Museum of Science yesterday and saw the Harry Potter exhibition. Believe it or not, it was actually really good. It wasn't all that crowded, which made it easier to see all the exhibits etc, and it was all the actual movie props. I know it's a little odd for two adults without kids to go see something like this, but if you're looking for something fun and a little out of the ordinary to do, I recommend taking a trip to MoS.

The most interesting part was, you forget just how little they were when all the movies started. When you see they're clothes from the first movie, there were like 9-10, and now they're 18-19 or whatever. That's a heck of a long time to be involved in what's essentially one project. But I'm assuming their bank accounts don't mind...

What Was Once..

The best comedy on tv, Scrubs, is back tonight. The first five or six seasons were all on NBC, but last season (which was supposed to be the last) and this season, will be on ABC. Changing networks is pretty unheard of nowadays. The good news is though, that the creator and main writer of the show has stayed on to run things

The thing that scares me though, is that they changed the show. It used to take place in a hospital, now it takes places (with 3/4 of the cast returning somehow) in a medical school. I'm a little apprehensive, but still optimistic...

We'll find out at 9pm tonight...