Weekend Update
Feb. 10th, 2003 12:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lawnrrdThis was a weekend for familial duties. My wife's father had gone through a medical procedure a few weeks ago, and while it was relatively minor as such things go, it did involve his heart, and he did need to recover for a few days in the ICU. On the other hand, he did play tennis this week, so it was not incapacitating, either.
But we hadn't seen him since, and this was the first chance we had had in a while, so we borrowed a car1 and drove to Philadelphia. The trip turned into a see-everyone weekend, which was efficient, at least.
Arriving early Saturday afternoon, we met my wife's mother and stepfather for lunch in Manayunk. Manayunk is a trendy section of Philadelphia that may have passed its prime. The restaurant certainly had, although it was still tolerable.
From there, we went to my wife's sister's house in the suburbs. It's a comfortable place, and it's where we had been staying on most of our visits to Philadelphia. The sister is about to have her second child, though, and they are getting a live-in au pair, so this was probably our last overnight visit for quite some time.
We had plans for dinner and drinks with a good friend who we haven't seen for a while. But his girlfriend got sick--emergency-room sick, although I hear she's better now--so they cancelled. Our in-laws invited us to join them in seeing Old School at a nearby megaplex, but we declined. Instead, we caught Chicago at the same megaplex, at about the same time, then met them and some friends for a late dinner afterward.
My wife liked the movie. I loved it. I was dazzled by the images; by the beautiful, sexy women; by the music; by the romantic depictions of wealth, fame, power . . . and lust. I suppose there was a moral to the point that fame is fleeting and lust is deadly, but fuck it. Cell Block Tango ("He Had It Comin'") blew me away, as it did when we saw it on Broadway, even though it was totally different.
Renee Zellweger's face has always seemed weird and scrunched-in to me, and I didn't think she was just right for the role of Roxy. Still, she did a serviceable job, and her body was simply shocking after Bridget Jones. On the other hand, I think Catherine Zeta-Jones was sexy and powerful as Velma, although her character's presence was less than it should have been. Queen Latifah was a revelation. Richard Gere was good, although I think he should have been a little less neurotic and a little more satanic.
The in-laws liked Old School. They said it was very funny. Dinner was at a chain called the Cheesecake Factory and was good.
Brunch this morning was at my father's house, and my brother and his wife and kids attended. The adults chatted about intra-familial litigation. The girls, ages 2 and 4, tried to break their new Valentine's Barbie dolls, but succeeded only in stripping off their dresses.2
We returned to the in-laws house. I napped, while my wife took part in a "spa party" with her sister and some of her sister's friends. They got massages and manicures and pedicures. After my nap, I escaped to Target for a while.
Finally, we ran the familial table by having dinner with my wife's father and stepmother. Then we drove back to New York, encountering remarkably little traffic on the way. And that is how I spent my weekend.
1From our ex-roommate, who owes us some big favors.
2Did anyone else know that Barbie dolls now seem to have permanent panties? Is this a new thing?
But we hadn't seen him since, and this was the first chance we had had in a while, so we borrowed a car1 and drove to Philadelphia. The trip turned into a see-everyone weekend, which was efficient, at least.
Arriving early Saturday afternoon, we met my wife's mother and stepfather for lunch in Manayunk. Manayunk is a trendy section of Philadelphia that may have passed its prime. The restaurant certainly had, although it was still tolerable.
From there, we went to my wife's sister's house in the suburbs. It's a comfortable place, and it's where we had been staying on most of our visits to Philadelphia. The sister is about to have her second child, though, and they are getting a live-in au pair, so this was probably our last overnight visit for quite some time.
We had plans for dinner and drinks with a good friend who we haven't seen for a while. But his girlfriend got sick--emergency-room sick, although I hear she's better now--so they cancelled. Our in-laws invited us to join them in seeing Old School at a nearby megaplex, but we declined. Instead, we caught Chicago at the same megaplex, at about the same time, then met them and some friends for a late dinner afterward.
My wife liked the movie. I loved it. I was dazzled by the images; by the beautiful, sexy women; by the music; by the romantic depictions of wealth, fame, power . . . and lust. I suppose there was a moral to the point that fame is fleeting and lust is deadly, but fuck it. Cell Block Tango ("He Had It Comin'") blew me away, as it did when we saw it on Broadway, even though it was totally different.
Renee Zellweger's face has always seemed weird and scrunched-in to me, and I didn't think she was just right for the role of Roxy. Still, she did a serviceable job, and her body was simply shocking after Bridget Jones. On the other hand, I think Catherine Zeta-Jones was sexy and powerful as Velma, although her character's presence was less than it should have been. Queen Latifah was a revelation. Richard Gere was good, although I think he should have been a little less neurotic and a little more satanic.
The in-laws liked Old School. They said it was very funny. Dinner was at a chain called the Cheesecake Factory and was good.
Brunch this morning was at my father's house, and my brother and his wife and kids attended. The adults chatted about intra-familial litigation. The girls, ages 2 and 4, tried to break their new Valentine's Barbie dolls, but succeeded only in stripping off their dresses.2
We returned to the in-laws house. I napped, while my wife took part in a "spa party" with her sister and some of her sister's friends. They got massages and manicures and pedicures. After my nap, I escaped to Target for a while.
Finally, we ran the familial table by having dinner with my wife's father and stepmother. Then we drove back to New York, encountering remarkably little traffic on the way. And that is how I spent my weekend.
1From our ex-roommate, who owes us some big favors.
2Did anyone else know that Barbie dolls now seem to have permanent panties? Is this a new thing?
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Date: 2003-02-09 10:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-02-10 05:47 am (UTC)