Entry 434: Dinner and a Movie

I guess it was a movie and dinner, if you want to be chronologically accurate, but S and I actually got to go out tonight without our kids like real people.  We are finally done with daycare, after five years, now that Lil' S2 is in preschool, and when we stopped, the woman who runs our daycare gave us a gift certificate to a nearby restaurant and four hours of free babysitting -- some sort of customer appreciation gift.  It's a very nice gesture, especially from somebody who wasn't always the easiest person to deal with.  Let's just say, I appreciate the gift, but I appreciate being done with her daycare more.

We took the opportunity to see Juliet, Naked at our local "arty" theater.  I wanted to see it, because I read the book, and I'm always keen on seeing a movie after I read the book, even if the movie looks bad, or, as in this case, I didn't really like the book.  I mean, the book was fine.  It's by Nick Hornby, and I thought I really liked Nick Hornby, because I loved High Fidelity the movie and then I really loved About a Boy the book (the movie was solid too).  But then I read a few of his other novels -- How to Be Good (bad), Slam (decent), Juliet, Naked (so-so) -- and realized that maybe I don't like him that much.  But Juliet, Naked the movie was enjoyable -- cute is an apt description.  It wasn't brilliant, award-winning cinema or anything like that, but that's not what it was trying to be.  It was really good for what it was.  It was like a Judd Apatow movie (actually he produced it), without the too-clever-by-half dialogue and without being 25 minutes too long.  The three main actors -- Rose Byrne, Chris O'Dowd, and Ethan Hawke -- were all excellent.  I really like Ethan Hawke now, because I heard him on Bill Simmons' podcast, and he was super into talking about his career and his old movies.  He geeked out on them like a fanboy, and I like it when celebrities do that.  I get annoyed when they act too cool for school about their work.  It's refreshing when artists appreciate their art as much as you do (which, coincidentally, is a big theme in the movie).  After Hawke, Simmons had Denzel Washington on, and the difference couldn't have been more stark.  Washington was interesting, and he came off as a decent guy, but his attitude about his old movies was like "You still care about that?  Move on."  Anyway...

Oh, another great thing about Juliet, Naked is that it Matt King (aka Super Hans) had a bit part in it.  I love that guy.*

So, holiday tomorrow.  We have the pool or the beach on the docket.  I guess it's the last weekend for that type of thing.  I mean, with climate change the weather will probably still be really hot here for another couple of months, but Labor Day is usually when everything closes for the season.  I'm pushing for the pool, because it's easier/less expensive.  It's not my call, though.  Our friend is the one with the pool membership, so if she says she wants to go to the beach, then I guess the beach it is.  S said she will take the kids by herself, but I'm not looking for a get-away day.  I want to do something with my family -- just maybe something that takes three hours instead of eight hours, that's all.

Also,  I want to spend time with Lil' S1 because I won't see him for a few weeks.  S is taking him to South Africa with her for a work trip.  Her parents are also going, so it's a quasi-vacation.  I'm not super stoked about it to be honest.  I get really worried when I'm away from my kids for more than a day, especially if they are out of the country, and also it makes me nervous to be the only one around with Lil' S2.  I keep having these awful thoughts of me having a brain aneurysm, and him being trapped alone in our house until somebody somehow realizes I'm gone.  But, you gotta live life, right?  You can't seal your family off in a protective bubble.  And even if you could, what would you do if it ran out of oxygen?

And truth be told, the trip actually comes at a decent time.  When I'm the only parent in town, it's really hard for me to make my Krav Maga classes, which is usually very irritating, but I recently injured my shoulder and could stand to take some time off to try to get it right.  Getting old(ish) is a bitch.  I'm actually not that far off, performance-wise, from where I was in my 20s.  I'm nearly as fit and maybe even a bit stronger now, but I just get destroyed by injuries in a way I never did before.  Seemingly small things linger for weeks, and I can't seem to go longer than a month or two without something major -- pulling a hamstring, spraining my thumb, throwing out my back, fucking up my shoulder.  It sucks.  Maybe I need to start taking HGH.  Anybody know a good PED dealer?

But I really shouldn't complain.  I received news recently that one of my cousins needs a liver transplant -- another one.  He already had his original liver removed because it was cancerous, and now his body is rejecting his new one.  Apparently his chances of getting a different, better new one soon are decent, but still -- perspective.

On that cheery note... 

Until next time...

*Weirdly, I can't find Matt King being credited for being in this movie, but I swear he is.  He even has a line.  I suppose I could have mistaken somebody else for him, but I don't think so.  Also, there is no part listed on imbd that fits the description of his (?) role in the movie.  So, I don't know.