early what
So, I rather liked several of the Aardman Animation films -- especially Flushed Away, which I haven't seen since it came out in 2006 and now I'm thinking I'd like to watch it again, just for the singing slugs -- and Early Man is getting very positive reviews, so I decided to take myself to see it last night. Shobhit has two nights in a row where he's working until 9:45, so I figured that would kill time.
That, and taking an hour to make and eat dinner beforehand, and then another hour to write the movie review afterward. I made a sort of macaroni casserole, combining two different types of boxed macaroni and cheese and adding sautéed bell pepper and mushroom and also chopped tomato and fried veggie chicken. I dished out my own serving and that was it for me; about two servings left for Shobhit, into which I put both chopped fresh peppers and a healthy dollop of ghost pepper hot sauce, which prevents me from even touching that shit after that. I'd probably go into anaphylactic shock.
My own dinner without the spiciness was rather good. I also added some fresh grated gouda cheese. I seriously hate to admit this but it actually could have stood a bit of salt. And I never like adding salt. Oh well. I ate while finishing up some of the Netflix comedy special by Hannibal Buress, which, when it comes to effective humor, I'd say was mid-level quality. I mean, it passed the time. I was mostly interested on his take on the media firestorm the followed him calling Bill Cosby out as a rapist -- the Cosby downfall literally started with that. I had never even heard of Hannibal Buress before that. I guess now I see why. He's a decent comic but that's it, really: just decent.
And then I went to the movie and was frankly disappointed by it. It wasn't nearly as delightful in its silliness as I expected. It was plenty silly, but its plot also focuses on a fucking soccer game between all the "stone age" and "bronze age" characters, which the promotion of the film does the opposite of making explicitly clear. Who wants to see an animated film that's actually a sports movie? Some people, presumably, but if the house last night was any indication, not a lot. I was one of maybe ten people in the theatre.
I walked downtown to Pacific Place before the movie, but a bus was coming right when I passed the first bus stop on the way back so I hopped on, saving me some time. I was in bed and finishing up the Hannibal Buress special on my iPad once Shobhit got home, barely past 10 p.m.
I've been regularly in touch with Ivan ever since he left, exchanging texts on Facebook Messenger pretty much every day. He's been to Barcelona and Madrid and reaches Granada today. He's sent me several pictures already, all but one of them selfies, which kind of cracks me up. He's all over Spain and he's sending selfies in front of the landmarks (and, in today's case, a train station). I mean, he's beautiful so I've got no complaints. But still, I'd kind of like to see more of the country itself that he's visiting.
I guess he's not having the best time just yet -- "It's been a very rough past week for me," he told me today, which is too bad. He sprained an ankle while "hopelessly lost" in Barcelona and today has a sore throat. If nothing else, I guess that makes it easier for me not to be jealous of the travel experience he's having at the moment. I can't imagine embarking on a once-in-a-lifetime travel experience and getting sick -- something that's one of my greatest fears about ever visiting India, incidentally. I'm really afraid of consuming the wrong thing and then getting projectile diarrhea for three days.
Ivan still has nearly three months planned in Europe though, so that's plenty of time to heal and get healthy again and make some more pleasant memories for himself.
Gabriel actually did something very similar to this himself, which we talked about a bit when I stayed the night with him two weekends ago. Two key differences: one, he was much younger than Ivan's current 32, being 26 in 2002; and two, he had just gone through a pretty dramatic breakup with Suzy. Well, I guess that last one isn't that different, since a big part of Ivan fleeing Seattle is to get over a guy he's in love with but won't give him the time of day. In any case, Gabriel spent about three months in Eastern Europe as well, and I think even that started a bit further west, albeit not as far west as Spain -- I know he spent a good amount of time in Italy. He even once swam across one of the massively polluted canals in Venice, which I'll never forget hearing about. I want to say some guy offered him $25 to do it? Something like that.
And here I am, forty-one and still never having visited another country besides Canada. It's ridiculous. I need to get on it. But, nothing can really happen on that front until Shobhit gets a full-time permanent job. God, I hope that happens soon.
Have I mentioned how much I love having a shared history with people? 2017 actually marked thirty years of friendship with Danielle. Although I don't see her often, I've known Lynn for 25 years as of this year. 2015 was twenty years with Gabriel -- so this coming summer I'll have known him twenty-three. And I was actually talking not that long ago with someone about the shared history I have with Shobhit being a big part of the many things I love about being married to him, the extent to which I complain about him notwithstanding. There is very little, almost nothing, that would appeal to me about starting a relationship with someone at this point in my life -- a lot of it may be exciting, but just as much of it is characterized by fears and anxiety. No thanks! Anyway, 2018 is five years of legal marriage with Shobhit, which truly hit me only recently -- it's fourteen years together total.
I actually met Laney eighteen years ago, although we've actively been friends for fourteen. I've been hanging out with Karen now for 13 years. And that's not even to mention the several friends from work I've known for many years, having worked here for over 15 years now. Among my closest friends, Ivan is by far the most recent, but I've already known even him nearly four years now -- not really enough to sow confidence in lasting permanence (much as I hope for it), but certainly enough to qualify as a shared history.
I do miss Barbara. We communicate very little anymore, and I used to lump her in with Gabriel and Danielle was "The Untouchables" -- friends I felt confident I will be close friends with until death. I think I could visit the D.C. area and Barbara and I would just pick up where we left off as though no time had passed at all, though, and that really does mean something. And she and I met in 1996, twenty-two years ago now.
Really all this means is that I am getting old.
[posted 12:34 pm]