Introversion on a Weekend
On Friday, after getting beer with the systems folks, Stephen, Andy, Paul, and I went to Hector's to grab some gyros. Oh, how I love gyros! Plus, I have recently discovered Tzatziki sauce (the yogurty stuff), so the novelty is renewed.
After that, I pretty much sat around the house, not doing much. I read a few short stories by Timothy Zahn, vegged out on the TV and computer, and pretty much did nothing worthwhile. Saturday, I got up, went to Wal-Mart to pick a gift for my mom, whose birthday was Thursday, stopped by Barnes and Noble to find a Dan Simmons novel, "Hard Freeze", on the bargain rack ($4 for a hardcover!), and went over to Mike's place to play some $5 entry hold 'em. (I think I was the 4th one out, of 8 people.) Then, I went to Elmo's Diner with Mike and Marie, a French girl who is back in town for a few weeks (yay!). Oh, man, that plate of biscuits and gravy was so tasty! Afterwards, I managed to find Maple View Farms after getting a little bit lost, so Mike, Marie, and I ate some yummy ice cream.
Later on, several (8 or 9) of us met up at the Wine Bar and had a few bottles. That was a fun time. The wine bar is not the typical Franklin St. alcoholery, though. It's a bit more upscale than most places, so there's a different crowd and different feel, but beyond that, the place clears out at like 1:15 or 1:30. Most places have last call at 1:30 or 1:45, and start kicking people out at 2:15 or so.
After that, I went home and stayed up way too late reading that Dan Simmons book. I must digress a bit here. Dan Simmons has been one of my favorite authors ever since I read "Hyperion", a renowned, award-winning science fiction novel. The thing about him, though, is that he is versatile. He has written scifi, horror, suspense, mainstream fiction, and fantasy. He has even won major awards in several of those genres. I have read a lot of his stuff, and enjoyed all of it. "Hard Freeze" was no exception. The novel was a bit short, at 291 pages and a slightly large font, but that was because it was tight. Every page served to advance the plot and increase the suspense. As a result, I finished within 24 hours of starting it. I can't remember the last time I did that. I think it might have been "Lovelock" by Orson Scott Card and Kathryn H. Kidd. Anyway, good stuff... ;-)
Sunday afternoon, Carol woke me up at 2pm because I'm a lazy bum. I had said I'd like to see "Wedding Crashers" Sunday afternoon, so she called me up and we went to see the 3:45 showing at Southpoint. Brian had already seen it and didn't care to again, so it was just us two. Both of us had high expectations from all of our friends' raves, but even with those high expectations, we were not disappointed! What a hilarious movie! I continue to gain more respect for Vince Vaughn...
After that, I pretty much sat around the house, not doing much. I read a few short stories by Timothy Zahn, vegged out on the TV and computer, and pretty much did nothing worthwhile. Saturday, I got up, went to Wal-Mart to pick a gift for my mom, whose birthday was Thursday, stopped by Barnes and Noble to find a Dan Simmons novel, "Hard Freeze", on the bargain rack ($4 for a hardcover!), and went over to Mike's place to play some $5 entry hold 'em. (I think I was the 4th one out, of 8 people.) Then, I went to Elmo's Diner with Mike and Marie, a French girl who is back in town for a few weeks (yay!). Oh, man, that plate of biscuits and gravy was so tasty! Afterwards, I managed to find Maple View Farms after getting a little bit lost, so Mike, Marie, and I ate some yummy ice cream.
Later on, several (8 or 9) of us met up at the Wine Bar and had a few bottles. That was a fun time. The wine bar is not the typical Franklin St. alcoholery, though. It's a bit more upscale than most places, so there's a different crowd and different feel, but beyond that, the place clears out at like 1:15 or 1:30. Most places have last call at 1:30 or 1:45, and start kicking people out at 2:15 or so.
After that, I went home and stayed up way too late reading that Dan Simmons book. I must digress a bit here. Dan Simmons has been one of my favorite authors ever since I read "Hyperion", a renowned, award-winning science fiction novel. The thing about him, though, is that he is versatile. He has written scifi, horror, suspense, mainstream fiction, and fantasy. He has even won major awards in several of those genres. I have read a lot of his stuff, and enjoyed all of it. "Hard Freeze" was no exception. The novel was a bit short, at 291 pages and a slightly large font, but that was because it was tight. Every page served to advance the plot and increase the suspense. As a result, I finished within 24 hours of starting it. I can't remember the last time I did that. I think it might have been "Lovelock" by Orson Scott Card and Kathryn H. Kidd. Anyway, good stuff... ;-)
Sunday afternoon, Carol woke me up at 2pm because I'm a lazy bum. I had said I'd like to see "Wedding Crashers" Sunday afternoon, so she called me up and we went to see the 3:45 showing at Southpoint. Brian had already seen it and didn't care to again, so it was just us two. Both of us had high expectations from all of our friends' raves, but even with those high expectations, we were not disappointed! What a hilarious movie! I continue to gain more respect for Vince Vaughn...