Checking in

I've been pretty busy this week moving and working and moving and working and moving and working...ie that's my excuse for not writing in a while. Plus I just got connected to my new Comcast account, so I have to catch up on all the movie news and shit...that takes priority.

Anyway, my new place has the potential to be really great. Right now it's nearly uninhabitable because there's hardly any light or places to put things away. Everything is still in boxes, or in some corner where I used it last. Everything is scattered and unorganized, so I can't get into a routine, which is a must for me or else I'll go crazy and start shitting all over the place. So I've got stuff to do, on top of more stuff to do, on top of work, on top of the GMAT. Gah. It'd be so much easier to run errands and get things done if it wasn't so damn cold outside. That's right, I'm blaming my laziness on the weather.

Oh! Jude and his girlfriend Fran came up this past weekend. It was fun because it's nice to talk to people who watch as much TV and movies as I do. I took them into downtown Portsmouth, which was interesting because I had only spent a total 2 hours there before, and I had to act like I knew where I was going (I didn't). We went to this restaurant called Flatbread Pizza that makes all its food with all-natural/organic ingredients. I was worried it would taste like dirt or something, but it was surprisingly tasty. As is always the case with me, the dinner conversation was somewhat stilted and awkward. Since there was a propensity for me and Jude to reminisce, I was concerned Fran might feel a bit left out. Plus, I wasn't sure what was ok to talk about in front of Fran, so every once in a while I had to hold back on a few things. Thankfully, Fran was super-nice about everything. Jude's a lucky guy.

After dinner we headed over to the movies to see "Constantine," which I had already seen...but I liked it and was curious what Jude would think of it, so "Constantine" it was. I dropped them off and went to park the car, only to realize there was no parking anywhere nearby. I had to park all the way over by JC Penny. Since I knew it would be at least 3 minutes for me to walk back to theater, I called Jude and told him to go ahead in and leave my ticket at the front desk, since we had already missed the 7:40 start time by 10 minutes, and I didn't want them to miss anymore of the key opening sequences. As I'm locking the car, I see Fran's little mint-green purse in the backseat. I decide to take it with me because 1) Leaving a purse in the backseat of the car in the mall parking lot at night is not a good idea, 2) I'd feel terrible if it was stolen, and 3) I'd get brownie points from Fran. Anyway, after the long, cold trudge across the two parking lots, I arrive at the theater and grab my ticket from the front desk. I take it to the teenage usher who tears it and points to the theater on the left. I go in and the movie has already started...in fact, it's pretty far along...about 25-30 minutes I'd say. I squint in the dark (which makes no sense) trying to find Jude and Fran. I don't know Fran well enough to recall what her head looks like, so I look for Jude's snow hat. Well, EVERYONE was wearing a goddamn snow-hat, so after like 10 minutes of squinting, I just sit down in a nearby aisle seat and watch the movie. Whenever there was a bright sequence that illuminated the seating, I glanced around to see if I could find Jude. No such luck.

So as soon as the movie ends, I walk out and wait for them to come out. "Any second now...yep, was that them? Nope. That them? No. Where are they? Maybe they're watching the credits...Jude probably wants to see the soundtrack listing." I go back in and there's no one there. I end up looking around the theater, in the bathrooms, in the arcade and "lounge areas" for like 10 minutes, until I finally start getting aggravated. Remember, I still have Fran's green purse in my arms, so I look supercool. Finally I give up and decide to get the Civic, so at least when we DO finally meet up we can argue about how stupid the other person is in the comfort of a warm car. I make the long trek back to the JC Penny parking lot and drive back and park in front of the theater entranceway and wait for another 10 minutes, leaving voicemails on Jude's phone and just generally worrying about what the hell happened. Here I am trying to pull off a nice night in Portsmouth, and I lose the friggin guests at the movies. Real smooth, Matt. I contemplate going back in and asking the usher if I can take a peak in the other theaters, because I start to think they just went to another movie, like "Cursed," because...well, because it starts with "C" and I had mentioned that it as a possibility earlier on, so maybe we misheard each other. But I didn't have to do that because Jude and Fran at that moment walk out of the front doors and get into my car. Turns out I had gone into the 7:15 showing, and not the 7:40. I apologize and we laugh about it, especially the whole purse aspect of it. But I still feel like an idiot the rest of the night.

In the morning, Jude and Fran left, not too long after being awaken by the sound of the water pipes clanging (this was at my old place). I had gone out and gotten a bunch of breakfast food, but Fran just wanted dry Grape Nuts, and Jude settled for generic Lucky Charms ("Magic Stars"). No one wanted my muffins. :(

Goddamn, I'm tired now. It feels like all this happened a month ago.