|
The Mask of Zorro
Friday, July 17, 1998 I irritated a woman on Sixdegrees today. She's a friend of a friend, and didn't approve of the kind of BBS discussion that I am trying to elicit. I think she also misunderstood what electing to receive BBS posts via email would mean, and thought she was about to be deluged with responses orginating from my post, when really it's like pulling teeth to get responses. But I was very mature in my reply to her, and said that I'll think about posting only to first-degree contacts in the future. (I also suggested that if getting mail is a problem for her, she might want to reconsider those preferences she has set. But I swear I tried not to be snippy about it!) I'm such a sensitive soul, though, that even that one little irritated comment, from someone I don't even know, and who maybe was having a difficult day, made me feel bad. Gee, Anita! Get a grip!
Tonight I was out with Jack, a VB developer and single father whom I first met in June. He's a cute guy! Here is how he described himself:
We had discussed various activities for the evening, and finally narrowed it down to dinner and a movie, at the newish Redmond Town Center. This is a shopping mall that is cleverly modeled after an old-fashioned downtown district (there's a street running through the middle) but with modern social-engineering knowledge applied, so that walkways, benches, fountains, etc all make it very appealing for people-watching and strolling about. I wonder about how pleasant this will be in the wet winter weather, though! I don't recall who suggested Claim Jumper first, but because I'd read about it in Diane's journal, I thought we'd give it a try. I didn't see Jack when I arrived, so I was waiting outside the restaurant, and he was sitting at the bar inside. I poked my head inside once, and didn't see him, then went back out to bask in the not-uncomfortable late afternoon warmth. Another try a few minutes later, and I saw someone waving from way down the bar. I'd only seen Jack the one time, so I wasn't sure it was him, but I knew him when I got closer. The place really was stupendously busy! I hadn't thought we would need a reservation, so it's a good thing that Jack had arrived early and gotten us on the list. As part of the western theme, they don't call out your name over the loudspeaker; instead they assign you a western code word, like "Mineral Gulch, party of eight" or "Big Horn Sheep, party of two." Our wait wasn't too long. Since the portions at this place are huge, we decided to get only one of the huge slabs of prime rib, and have the other entree be the whisky chicken (more normal sized) and split both. I let Jack fill the salad bar plate, since he seemed to have a strategy about it. "First you put the cucumber slices around the edge of the plate..." All the food was very tasty, even down to the mashed potatoes laced with bacon! We ended up with a free dessert since the iced tea Jack ordered had never arrived, so we got the famous six-layer chocolate cake, to go.
We walked through Borders (but didn't stop to browse) and up to the mall's second level, where the theater was. Jack told me how he and a buddy used to hang out in the computer book section of the store and strike up conversations with folks about the books they were getting or the topics they were trying to find out about. This tickled me, but an impromptu users group like this seems like a fun idea. It fits with my advice-giving tendencies, too! The crowd in the theater seemed to include a lot of developer types, and I did see one man that I'd worked with several years before. This was my first time at this theater, and I was surprised to see they didn't use that popular stadium-style seating. No refreshments needed, of course! The movie itself was great fun. I'm not a huge Zorro fan, but it seemed like they included the right elements. I especially liked the great part that Anthony Hopkins got! and the girl wasn't totally neglected. I'd say the division was about 40% Hopkins, 40% Banderas, and 20% for her, in the weight the story gives them. They actually gave some screen time to her shock and grief at some of the plot revelations, and she didn't just stand and scream during any scenes that I recall. Diane has a lot more to say about the movie than I do, which isn't surprising since she's a screenwriter. I was pleased that Jack had a proposal for our next meeting, at a concert in a few weeks. I like not having things up in the air! We went to get that chocolate cake out of his car, he gave me a ride to my car parked on the other side of the mall, we divided the cake (he insisted on his share, the rascal! so he pulled out his pocket knife) and we said goodnight. What a fun evening!
|
