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Wednesday, March 31, 1999
One year ago: One Day
Jack surprised me with a bouquet of flowers (a mixed bunch from the grocery store) and a small potted ivy this evening. I don't know if this was just a good impulse on his part, or if it was because of this sequence of events:
- I neglected to call him to confirm that he was home before heading out to his place after work. (We'd already spoken about me coming over, the previous evening.)
- He wasn't home at four thirty, so I sat in the car for an hour and a half, making good progress on the new Vernor Vinge book ("Deepness") I've been reading.
- I had to pee, and I didn't have Jack's phone number with me, so I drove back to my office (about fifteen minutes away, so that's not so bad).
- When I called Jack from my office, he was in the grocery store and had no idea what time it was. I think the fact that it's staying light so much later was a factor here, but he was wearing his watch!
- I drove back to his place, but it was still over half an hour before he arrived.
Remarkably, I wasn't bugged by all this. I knew that I was taking a risk by not calling before leaving work the first time, but I was reluctant to, because ---
Jack's been trying to decide between two different job offers. One would keep him here in Seattle, the other was based in Bellingham, about an hour and a half north of here. Both were good opportunities, and the idea of getting out of the city appealed to him. I knew he was going to decide today, and I didn't want to get the news over the phone if he was going to be moving away.
He told me, when we finally got together and I was helping carry in the groceries and Costco purchases, that he said yes to the job that will keep him in Seattle. I was so glad! I would have understood if he'd chosen to go north; it was a good offer, in a lower-stress job, and he loves the country. But it would have meant a longer drive for him to take his daughters back and forth to their mom's place, south of here, and I certainly wouldn't get to see him as much as I like to.
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We ate a chinese carryout dinner (if food from Safeway can be called such) and decided to go to a late showing of The Matrix. We'd missed the seven pm show, and I'd thought the next showtime was at nine. We were surprised to see that it didn't start until after ten! The long running time dictates this schedule, I guess. We were both tired, but wanted to see the film, and this weekend will be so busy that this was our only chance for a while.
We were talking about the possible crowd size as we walked towards the theater, and the probable market for the movie. I burst out laughing when we turned the corner, and saw a significant line at the box office window, virtually all guys in their early twenties! "I guess we know which movie they're going to see!" I said, and what we heard them say to the cashier confirmed the assumption. I bought stimulating beverages for us while Jack went and picked our seats. The theater was mostly full, and was almost completely full by the time the show started. (Jack was disappointed -- they didn't show the new "Phantom Menace" trailer. I still can't approve of that title!)
The movie was great! It really exceeded my expectations. The science fiction plot actually made a fair amount of sense, with just a few things that were tough to swallow. The cast did a good job, the effects were fabulous, and it was only a few minutes too long. For once, the commercials don't give everything away! There's an entertaining variety of styles and moods, some really dark humor, and layer after layer of complication.
I recommend it!
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Interesting to see where I was a year ago. March 1998 was a time with some difficulties for me, but by the end of the month I was feeling pretty good, despite going out a few times with a flaky guy. I referred for the first time to Dave Van, still a favorite of mine. Ha! I see he's been updating and I didn't know -- IE checks that for me. Now that all xoom journals have been forcibly framed by the Xoom company, I need to move him to the "framed journals" folder that I must check manually. Framesets don't notify IE of the changes in the underlying frames, which is one reason why I prefer unframed journals -- convenience to me!
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