Tri-weekly Update

Don’t worry, I’m not going to start updating just once every three weeks! It just worked out that way this time.

Anyway, lots to catch you up on.

Last night, after a scrumptious dinner at Cheesecake Factory, Shelly and I went to see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. I’ll confess, for the first time since I was maybe twelve, I was positively giddy with anticipation of this movie. And I wasn’t disappointed, though I didn’t feel like this one was quite as good as the first one. The first Transformers pleasantly surprised me in how well it unfolded the plot and made sure that the premises of the movie were firmly established, whereas the sequel kind of just throws you in and hopes you can keep up, and on a couple of occasions throws random things at you that aren’t particularly well explained. I've actually read several very critical reviews today that I can't entirely disagree with, but I think I just decided that I was going to like this movie no matter what.

That aside, though, it was a great action movie, with tons of great sequences. One of them did strike me as kind of amusing, though, due to what had been shown in the first movie. Not to ruin it for you (not that it will, if you’ve seen the trailer), but one scene pits Optimus against three major Decepticons, and Optimus is positively handling it. Contrast this to the climatic scene in Transformers, when, after effortlessly dispatching Bonecrusher, Optimus spends the next ten minutes getting smacked around by Megatron, only to be saved by the timely intervention of Sam and the US Air Force. Makes you think Optimus, embarrassed by his performance, must have started dabbling in mixed martial arts over the intervening two years.

For her part, Shelly would like to point out that, contrary to the movie’s portrayal, freshman year college women don’t usually all rate a 10 on the hotness scale.

So, on to other things.

Last weekend, Shelly and I were honored to be invited to dinner at Bocci’s over at Sutton Station, by none other than… oh, wait, it was just the Hawkinseses again. We have dinner with them every week! :) Still, we had a great time with them, though Italian-speaking Erika neglected to inform me that the dish I randomly ordered, Fra Diavolo (visible on this menu under "Old World favorites), has a heat index roughly equivalent to the stellar core of a blue giant star. Fortunately, I like spicy food anyway, but that dish put anything I’ve eaten in recent memory to shame. In on the joke, non-forthcoming-Erika chuckled knowingly as I finished a third glass of water, then chose to inform me that the translation of the dish means "Devil’s Brother".

Progressing yet further back in time, I have a major announcement to make! Nearly three years after our wedding, my blushing bride has at long last formally adopted my last name! Apparently realizing that this whole marriage thing isn’t going to just ‘go away’, she succumbed to the inevitable and moved her former last name to the middle name position, pushing the given name "Ann" out altogether. So, celebrate, DeAdders everywhere! Your numbers have swelled by one!

Moving steadily backwards through the continuum, the weekend before last, we had a six-pack dinner (which isn’t quite as fun as the name implies; it just signifies a dinner with Erika and Jason, Matt and Martha, and Shelly and I) at the… umm… Cheesecake Factory again. This dinner featured the launch and maiden voyage of Erika and Jason’s brand new Honda Pilot, which received universal acclaim from the other four of us. Matt in particular was impressed by the small TV in the back, immediately sending thoughts of wireless PS3/Wii/Xbox/etc games played from the backseat while en route spinning dizzily through his head. Martha grimly acknowledged the near certainty of her having to drive everywhere for the remainder of her life should such a thing come to pass. The whole idea almost makes me want to front their down payment for them!

Subsequently, the six of us traveled to He’s Not Here, which is fast becoming a standard feature of our Durham/Chapel Hill get-togethers. Jason managed to leave in slightly better shape than last time, however. No word yet on whether Martha and Matt successfully navigated their way home later on, though at least this time I wasn’t falsely accused of promising certain fast food restaurants would be open. Martha did, however, admonish me to fairly and accurately report the evening on my blog ‘this time’, which left me confused, as everything I report here is always 100% distilled truth, to the best of my knowledge.

By the way, the link in that last paragraph isn't the official webpage of the bar, but the comments are so freakin' hysterical I couldn't pass it up.

At some point in all this fun, Shelly and I also attended five innings of a Durham Bulls game with her fellow Clerks of Court at the Court of Appeals. We all ‘hobnobbed’ together for several earlier innings and had dinner, after which we settled down to watch the actual game. At that point, we realized that the team we were nominally there to see was getting blown out 7-2, and as it was approaching the 9 pm witching hour, the two of us decided to head home. It was a fun time, though co-clerk Dan and the infamous Sara didn't put in appearances, nor did Shelly's boss.

Just because I can't think of a better time to mention it, I thought I'd share the joy that is Sporcle with you. Earlier this week, a teller shortage led to Yours Truly being drafted into joining the teller line for two hours. Apparently, tellers adhere to old adage of "Once a teller, always a teller", because, despite the transient nature of my tenure, they shared with me the principle method by which they waste time.. er, I mean, pass the day. And that method is sporcle. It's a really cool site, and it's somewhat humbling how difficult it is to complete even quizzes that you feel you should know. For instance, though I was able to get all fifty states in under 4 minutes, I couldn't think of all the Pixar movies, even though I've seen all of them. Also, my attempt to name all 44 Presidents left a massive gap in the middle of the 19th century, though I did manage to get everyone from McKinley onward.

So, sporcle aside, that leaves one final weekend on our little trip into the past. The first weekend of June saw a visit from my mother-in-law, who assisted us greatly in our first yard sale at our townhouse. We managed to make $135 dollars over the course of the morning, and, more importantly, got rid of a lot of junk that was cluttering up our storage spaces. One noteworthy exchange took place when a guy probably a bit older than me and of different racial background inquired about the ankle holster I was offering for sale (it was folded up and it wasn't immediately obvious what it was). I told him, causing a bit of eyebrow raising on the part of his wife and another lady how happened to have been there at the same time. He asked me if I was a cop. I said no, then "Just a guy who believes in his God-given right to bear arms." He grinned and replied, "I feel you. I really do."

I occurs to me now that I have not a single picture representing these affairs. Just use your imagination- usually the result's better anyway. But I'll try to get a few this weekend- that's when my parents are coming into town (at least I think so- they're been put on the schedule pretty much every weekend this month, only to cancel later on!). I'm sure there'll be lots of goings-on that I'll catalogue photographically in gratuitous detail.

So until then, goodbye!

Oh, wait, one last thing- Jen Glass, it was a big mistake to send that birthday gift early! Despite your written admonishment to await the appointed day, Shelly had it in her clutches a grand total of 3.4 seconds before tearing into it.

Glorious Monday!

Drive-by comments aside, it was a pretty good weekend down here in North Carolina.

We started things right out of the gate Friday afternoon, when Shelly picked me up after work and drove us over to the Carolina Inn, where we met up with Erika and Charlotte. They were having a fund raiser for the UNC NICU, which Erika has been a part of ever since Charlotte was born. (Actually, I’m sure I got something wrong there, but no doubt Erika will helpfully post a comment and correct me, right Erika?) They had bluegrass music and food and drinks, and the turnout was quite high, helped, no doubt, by the exceptionally pleasant weather. I didn’t think to bring my camera (that would have meant I’d have had to lug it around at work all day), but I took a bunch with Erika’s, so as soon as she forwards some of those to me, everyone can have a look at them. No pressure. :)

As a bit of an aside here, that Charlotte seems to have quite a knack for dancing! No doubt she’ll give her parents fits in later years, as she sneaks out and puts those burgeoning skills to use!
After the fundraiser, the four of us walked down to Ben and Jerry’s, where we all had some ice cream. I ordered some kind of sundae concoction, which was based on a brownie, and mounted with ice cream (my choice of flavor), chocolate syrup, and any additional toppings I might like. I originally chose chocolate ice cream with M&M toppings, but the girls cautioned (wisely, as it turned out) against such chocolate monogamy, so I switched the ice cream to vanilla.

Saturday, Shelly and I managed to squeeze a gym excursion into our morning routine (we actually had a bit of an argument- totally my fault, honestly- that I channeled into knocking a solid minute of off my pace per mile). We worked around the house in the afternoon, doing some needed laundry and other chores (despite our best efforts, the plants in our hanging baskets had given up the ghost, so I disposed of them), and then met up with the Hawkinseses at Brixx for dinner. Afterwards, the five of us went back to their place to hang out; after putting the little one to bed, the adults played Taboo, which resulted in Jason and I getting beaten rather soundly by the girls. Of note, the regular buzzer to the game was broken, so we substituted Charlotte’s ‘Elmo Remote’; I must say, it was downright bizarre to hear Elmo’s voice intoning ‘rubber ducky!" and chuckling in response to my violation of one of the taboo words.

Sunday was fairly lazy, with Shell and I getting up and going to church, then having lunch at Ruby Tuesday’s, then watching Taken in the afternoon. It was a good movie; Liam Neeson is usually worth watching (even in his less-impressive movies, it’s more the actors around him that are the problem), and he didn’t disappoint this time. Later in the evening, we went to feed the waterfowl again, and were gratified to see that all the ducklings and goslings we saw before are still doing fine (ducklings in particular seem to have about a 30% mortality rate, judging by the last couple of years). But Sarah (their mother) seems to have things well in hand, as all eleven of them made an appearance again last night.

In other news, despite several phone calls, I have still not heard from my dear sister about a possible visit sometime this month. So, sister, you might want to contact me! We have open weekends but they’re filling up fast, as we’re in high demand! So act now, operators are standing by! :)

Finally, I’m waiting with baited breath for word of my CCW permit, since I applied for it on March 8th, and by law, the Durham Sheriff’s office has 90 days to give me an answer one way or another. Since I’m sure I would have been notified by now if I’d been disqualified (which would have shocked me, since nothing in my record would have justified that), I assume that they’re simply waiting the maximum amount of time allowed them before telling me yes. I’ll let you all know about that once I hear something.

Alright, that’s about all I have to say. I’ll catch you next time (which, you might have noticed lately, is likely to be happening sooner than you think, so check back regularly)!