Last Friday's snow turned out to be a non-issue going home - in fact, I caught a later rush-hour train that seemed less crowded than usual - probably because a lot of people couldn't shovel their cars out and chose to stay home that day. This is both the blessing and the curse of having a parking garage - as long as the roads are plowed, there's really no excuse not to go to work in the snow. The whole rest of my family - Bee, Tara and Bug - all either took or got the day off and stayed home together, since their driveway didn't get plowed until late in the afternoon. I'm sure snow is so much more fun when you're a child than when you're a grownup.
This weekend was very nice and peaceful. Saturday I met my family at the UPS Store because Bug needed to sign up for a mailbox for a publication she and Bee are starting. Then I went to the library and found the movie Hard Candy, which stars a then-18-year-old Ellen Page (Oscar-nominated star of Juno and also played Kitty Pryde in X-Men 3: The Last Stand) playing a 14-year-old girl who gets involved with a suspected pedophile/murderer. I watched the movie Sunday night, and I have to say it's probably one of the most disturbing movies I've ever seen, although David Lynch's Mulholland Drive still retains the top spot in that category. That said, I can see why Ms. Page was nominated for Juno (which I haven't seen yet). She is absolutely riveting in this performance, which was overlooked by many people due to the subject content. If you're up for a challenging movie, give Hard Candy a try - it's about as far from the mainstream as you can get in a local library or video store.
Saturday night we saw Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (which we all enjoyed) followed by Tina Fey's performance as host on Saturday Night Live, the first episode back from the writer's strike. With the exception of Carrie Underwood, it was loads of fun. Maybe we'll start watching that every week after our regular Saturday night dinner and movie.
Sunday Bee, Tara and I went out to the mall to do some shopping. I'm looking for a new couch to replace the ones I got after my last apartment fire, which came with the apartment. If I can find someone to buy my living room set, then I can get something that's more suitable for me, so I'm starting to look around for that. I also found some nice tops at Macy's where they were having a one-day sale, but couldn't find a clutch purse for the wedding in a couple of weeks. I don't shop at department stores much, but it seems they are worth checking out during sales. Bee had a gift card that she swapped me for cash, so that worked out nicely. Then Sunday night I watched the Rockets extend their winning streak to 12 games against the Chicago Bulls.
This week I'm planning to get my hair recolored red on Tuesday, maybe a little brighter than last time. Tonight I'm planning to watch the latest Resident Evil movie with Tara before I have to return it to the NYC library tomorrow. Also, on Tuesday the new 4-disc Criterion version of The Last Emperor comes out, so maybe we'll watch that on family night this weekend. Should be a pretty quiet week otherwise, as the month is winding down.
