I JUST CLOSED MY EYES AND MY WHOLE WEEKEND DISAPPEARED…
….well not really but it sure seems that way!
Before I get to the weekend, I had copies of the new Clint Eastwood flick Gran Torino to give away all last week so I had to watch it when it came out on Tuesday! Eastwood plays an old racist veteran from the Korean War who befriends, oddly enough, a family of Asians. I found it strangely similar to Billy Bob Thornton’s character in Bad Santa in that the main character is a hardass who begins to soften in a very subtle way. Ridiculous parallel for two great but vastly different films.
Gran Torino \m/ \m/ \m/ \m/
Also over the course of the week, I watched Tom Hanks’ very first film, a slasher flick from 1980 called He Knows You’re Alone which is actually a fairly good one from the genre. I’m not going to officially review it since it’s almost 30 years old, but I figured it deserved honorable mention considering most people are not familiar with it.
Friday night, Rebecca brought over Marley and Me which she had already seen but I had not. It was a heartwarming story about a couple and their life with their beloved but misbehaving dog, Marley. All I can say is that I am glad it ended when it did because I was losing the battle of holding back an ocean of tears. Yeah, I’m a pansy!
Marley and Me \m/ \m/ \m/ \n
Saturday I had to get up fairly early and head out to Auto Zone on Anderson Road in Greenville for a live broadcast for Havoline with Deposit Shield. It was pretty hot so I stayed in the shade and enjoyed some Papa John’s pizza and ice cold Cheerwine while giving away prizes including $25 Texaco with Techron gift cards with the Havoline hottie Erica.
Afterwards, I went out to the Shriner’s Hospital benefit show in Mauldin and hung out with some fellow musicians and caught a few great local bands including GHOST IN THE MACHINE whom I gave an introduction for on stage.
I got home a little before six and had some dinner while waiting for my cousin Ray to meet me at my apartment so we could head Mike Burket’s house to plot and conspire about starting a new project of original material. When we got there I unwittingly stepped right into a fire ant hill getting the little bastards all in my left shoe and suffering a couple of bites on my left ankle and a bite on my right hand as I tried to clear them away. I ended up having to abandon my shoes until we left a few hours later.
Again I slept in Sunday morning being the only day I was able to do so. Actually, I got up at my usual time just couldn’t find the motivation to make it to church. I did watch Charles Stanley on TV! For most of the day I watched TV and napped on the couch to make up for not sleeping in!
Later my mom took my Aunt Pat out to dinner for her birthday and wanted me to come. I told her I couldn’t because I was broke and wouldn’t get paid until today. However, I ended up calling and checking my savings account balance on the phone to see how much money I had to go and grab myself a cheap bite to eat for dinner only to discover my check had been deposited on Saturday! I immediately called Mom and told her I’d be on my way and met them at Copper River in Easley. I ordered the blackened tuna filet sandwich which was simply amazing and followed it with the equally amazing moosetracks brownie sundae! My stomach seriously just rumbled as I am writing this!
After dinner, I ran by Robbie and Vanessa’s house since they live nearby in Powdersville. I just sat and killed some time waiting for my old college friend Christopher Doehling to get into town from visiting friends in Clemson. Chris is the guy who worked on the Disney animated film Bolt and is back in South Carolina from Los Angeles visiting family and friends.
Before he arrived, I also took in a little shopping at Wal-Mart to pick up a few groceries, this Cookie Monster shirt I am currently sporting and the Star Trek movie trilogy on Blu-ray including The Wrath of Khan, The Search for Spock and The Voyage Home. As soon as I got home, Chris called me and we met up at IHOP, but I of course was too full to put anything in my body besides water! It was great to get to see my good friend from my college days since it’s been over a decade now since we both graduated.
I went home, popped in The Search for Spock and watched most of it before hitting the sack and waking up this morning to start another grand week at work!