Message 219

My cold is not getting much better. Yesterday I called and begged off of attending the Xmas party at the Rohans because I did not want to infect the other people there. I figure I have another week or ten days before it runs its course. I am debating whether to take Zithromax, but it does not seem that bad yet. In other words, I do not have a fever, so I do not think a secondary infection has set in yet.

Yesterday I watched three football games. The 49ers and Raiders both won for a change. The Raiders were blacked out because the game was not sold out, so I watched Seattle beat the Jets. In the evening I watched the Giants barely beat Carolina.

Later in the evening I watched the San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker on PBS.

Message 218

Last night I was watching the Sharks play the NY Rangers when Judi called and asked if I would like to go to a movie with them. I said sure, so they picked me up at 9 PM. The sharks were ahead 3-2 in the middle of the second period, and I still do not know won. Maybe later I will log on to their web site to find out.

The movie we saw was Seven Pounds with Will Smith. He is a good actor, but I thought the premise of the movie was so absurd that I only give it 2 stars.

I am supposed to go to a party at Dennis and Therese Rohan's this afternoon, but I have come down with a cold so I may decide not to go so I don't spread my germs. The party starts at 4 PM, so I will call about 3 PM with my regrets if I decide not to go.

Vanessa said she was going to bring me chicken soup. I don't really feel like eating, but I suppose chicken would be good for me, so maybe today I will watch football and read the Economist and dose in my easy chair.

Message 217

Last night I went to the dinner group at Morrills. The eight of us who went to Ireland a couple of years ago were able to get together because the Willetts were visiting from their new home in France. They come back twice a year to visit their daughter and her husband and son. He is their only grandchild, and is now eight months old. After we finished eating the men did the dishes while the women sat around and talked in the living room, which is the tradition. I started this tradition several years ago because before whoever was the host couple had to do it all after everyone went home, and it was more fun to do the dishes as a group. Also, the women did all the cooking for the potluck dinner, and I thought it would be better for the men to share some of the responsibility. This dinner has been going continuously since 1975, so it has lasted 33 years now.

I am waiting for Helen and Jim to call to meet at Starbucks, which is another routine that has been going on for at least twenty five years now also.

Message 216

Yesterday afternoon I babysat Beech and Annie while Vanessa had an appointment at PAMF. We had a lot of fun. When Vanessa came back we all shared chicken pot pie for dinner.

I also watched the Sharks lose to Detroit yesterday. The Sharks were shut out and looked bad. Maybe they are not ready to play at the Stanley Cup level yet.

Last night I watched a DVD of Blade Runner, The Final Cut. It is the third version of Blade Runner I have seen. It gets better with each viewing. I give it 5 stars. I have not returned it to Netflix yet because I still want to watch the commentaries.

Message 215

Last night I had dinner with two friends I have not seen in about five years, Ed Van Deman and Nancie Fimbel. Sally and Nancie were both in the Mt. Holyoke club, and I worked with Ed for a few months after I retired helping him write user manuals for his company's Financial Navigator software. We went to Sundance Mining Company and had a nice prime rib Sundown Special.

This morning I went to Heidi's Pies with Vanessa and Annie, and afterward I took Annie to the San Mateo Library for story time.

Last night I watched a DVD of the movie Deja Vu. It was a science fiction-terrorist-mystery-thriller with Denzel Washington. I give it three stars. I could not manage to suspend disbelief in the time travel concept.

Message 214

We are having something of a cold snap here, so last night I closed the door to my bedroom balcony, which I usually keep open to keep my bedroom cool. The sun is now shining brightly, so I imagine it will warm up during the day today.

Last night I watched a DVD of a movie called Layer Cake, or L4yer Cake as it is written on the Disk. I have no idea what the 4 means, maybe the movie has four levels on which it can be interpreted. Anyway I give it three stars. I might have given it more if I had been able to understand it. It was a complex plot about drug dealers in Brittan, and the speech was so heavily accented that I could not understand a lot of it.

Message 213

We are finally getting a little rain here. We need it too. Last night I watched a DVD of a movie called Bound. I give it 4 stars. It is a lesbian love story set at the center of a gangster movie. After it started I realized I had seen it before, but I only remembered fragments of it.