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June 18, 2000 |
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I've been pondering about precisely what to do about my entire e-mail dilemma. I'll have to get another
e-mail address that much is clear. I suppose the question is to get
another free one that won't change if I ever switch ISP's, or
finally give out the address that I have with my ISP as my regular e-mail
address. If I go with one of the free solutions there are a number of
options, several of them have an option to forward mail to another account,
so I really wouldn't have to change my inbox or anything like that. I'd
just have to notify everyone that I have a different e-mail address. I
hate it when people do this to me, so I try not to do it to anyone
else. I figured that I was pretty safe with my geocities account.
Apparently not.
Meanwhile, I am frantically trying to change all the little services that I
have signed up with over the past couple of years, trying to make sure that
I update my address with them as well. Sometimes life is not any fun.
Tonight Pam would be joining Len and I for Sunday Dinner with Len™. I would have to go to her place and pick her up, since she doesn't drive. I think the plan was to drive by her place at about 4:30pm and we'd go on from there. We did. The drive from her place to mine was uneventful, save my bouts of tailgating and thus her isolated moments of cardiac arrest.
We got back to my place with plenty of time to spare. We had been meaning to watch, Snow Falling on Cedars. I had gotten it recently in the mail on DVD. Normally, we watch movies at her place, but she doesn't have a DVD player. We have limited options.
I am curious about the way they display the cultural dynamics of a mixed Asian-Caucasian couple. She wants to watch the movie due to the fact that Ethan Hawke is in it. No it's not quite like it sounds, she likes watching particular actors (and actresses), but the part that I find a bit strange is that this is also true regardless of what the plot of the movie might be. To me this seems a little like going to Disney World to admire the architecture… not to say that you can't, but that's not why these buildings and rides were put together.
The movie was okay. It had a solid plot and has its share of twists and turns. I for one wanted to see more of the conflict that would arise from mixed couplehood. The movie was set during the time of World War II, which is also when the racial (in this case Japanese) tensions were very high not to mention that mixed couples, in general, were more tabboo back then. They had some brief bouts of that tension where Hatsue and her mother are talking about finding a good Japanese man (instead of a good man, in general). I did get a more tangible feel for the racial prejudice that Japanese suffered during the war.
It was part way through the movie when Len arrived and we headed out to dinner. Since it was my birthday tomorrow, they let me pick the restaurant. I was debating ribs for a short while, but I settled on getting Chinese food. We went to our default Chinese restaurant, Best Wok.
The food was exceptional as always. I also got one of their Philippino Punch, which is very good. It's got milk, peaches, cherries, and coconut milk… I think. Whatever it has, it is very tasty. Len and I had our standards. No… Really. It's gotten to the point where they actually ask us, "The usual?" I cannot make this up.
Pam had the sweet and sour chicken which I sneered at. Not that there's anything wrong with the dish itself. I'm sure they would prepare it well. My only complaint is that it is way too common. Picture going into Baskin Robbins or Ben and Jerry's ice cream and ordering… vanilla. Why order vanilla when you have so many other exciting choices? Maybe it comes from having worked in about a dozen different Chinese restaurants and every one of them served sweet and sour chicken. That's pretty standard and vanilla, don't you think?
Naturally, the company was wonderful. I can't think of anything much better than having dinner with my girlfriend and one of my dearest friends. We talked more about Len's move and how far he was along. He would be on the road for at least a couple of months, sure we would talk on the phone and all, but I would certainly miss these dinners.
We also touched upon her job search and potential offers. She still hated her job and from her description of the situation, I would have to agree. They seem very dysfunctional. There were still some leads and other things that may pan out. She just had to follow up on them.
Unfortunately, it seems that both of their lives are in a bit of a state of flux right now, and that's certainly causing each of them some stress. Naturally, I'll do what I can to help. Even cheap manual labor. Len said that he may take me up on it.
They both treated me for dinner. A truly sweet gesture. Thanks, guys!
Len drove us back to my place after that. Pam and I finished watching the movie. Normally, I would've asked Len if he would like to watch the movie, but this is not a Len-type movie. I can't remember the last time he watched a straight drama.
The end of the movie was perhaps a little predictable, but also a bit refreshing. For those of you who haven't seen it, I won't spoil it for you, it is really a pretty good movie, but I suppose that I was hoping more mixed-couplehood tension the way it seemed to be billed in the previews, and in that respect I was disappointed. She thought it moved a little slow, which maybe it did, but I wasn't really bothered by it.
I drove her back to her place shortly after the end of the movie. I couldn't stay for long since I was not parked in a legal spot. I simply left my blinkers on… and hopefully that will deter the owner of the spot, should he come home soon, from calling a tow truck. Although realistically, this parking lot is already tough to maneuver into, I can't imagine a tow truck having much luck towing these cars.
I went in briefly to kiss Pam goodnight and to pick up the cool picture that she got me for my birthday. I probably hung around for a little longer than I should have, but he owner of the parking spot didn't come home.
Damn! She left the doggie bag at my place.
June 18, 2000